Taxi (2004/I)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Tim Story

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (earlier screenplay)
Robert Ben Garant (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 October 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Take a Ride on the Wild Side.

Plot:

A mouthy and feisty taxicab driver (Latifah) has hot tips for a green and inept cop (Fallon) set on solving a string of New York City bank robberies commited by a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers.

Plot Keywords:

Brazilian | New York City | Bank Robbery | Taxicab | Undercover

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 19

12:00 PM

FX

Cast

Queen Latifah	...	Isabelle 'Belle' Williams
Jimmy Fallon	...	Andrew 'Andy' Washburn
Henry Simmons	...	Jesse
Jennifer Esposito	...	Lt. Marta Robbins
Gisele Bündchen	...	Vanessa
Ana Cristina de Oliveira	...	Redhead
Ingrid Vandebosch	...	Third Robber
Magali Amadei	...	Fourth Robber
Ann-Margret	...	Washburn's Mom
Christian Kane	...	Agent Mullins
Boris McGiver	...	Franklin
Adrian Martinez	...	Brasilian Man
Joe Lisi	...	Mr. Scalia
Bryna Weiss	...	Mrs. Scalia
GQ	...	Stopwatch Messenger
Joey Diaz	...	Freddy (as Joey 'CoCo' Diaz)
Rick Overton	...	Man at Taxi Convention
John Rothman	...	Business Man
Mike Santana	...	Young Dealer
Herman Chavez	...	Undercover Domino Player (as Herman Chaves)
Lou Torres	...	Sweaty Dealer
Sixto Ramos	...	Twitchy Dealer
Mario Roberts	...	Third Dealer
Jamie Mahoney	...	Kid
Amanda Anka	...	Officer
John Duerler	...	Uniformed Cop
Patton Oswalt	...	Clerk at Inpound Office
John Sierros	...	Fat Cop
Earl Schuman	...	Old Janitor
William Cote	...	Cop #1 at Airport (as Will Cote)
Riley G. Matthews Jr.	...	Cop #2 at Airport
Adam LeFevre	...	Big Cop
Kevin Carolan	...	Cop at Bank #3
Edward Conna	...	Lou's Garage Cop
Victor Isaac	...	Messenger #1
Ramon Fernandez	...	Messenger #2
John Krasinski	...	Messenger #3
Jay Spadaro	...	Bodega Owner
Shirell Ferguson	...	Nurse
Nashawn Kearse	...	Cop in Harlem
Alli Danziger	...	Girl at Bank
Tanner Schwartz	...	Bank Hostage
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chris Brandt	...	Jeff Gordon Pit Crew (uncredited)
Gelbert Coloma	...	Thai Detective (uncredited)
Dita de Leon	...	Detective (uncredited)
Jeff Gordon	...	Himself (uncredited)
Frank Hopf	...	Uniformed Cop (uncredited)
Mark Kubr	...	Drug Man (uncredited)
Jonathan Latroy	...	Belle Pit Crew (uncredited)
Lee Ann Powers	...	DMV clerk (uncredited)
Marty Eli Schwartz	...	Cop at Roadblock (uncredited)
Heather Sullivan	...	Bank Employee (uncredited)
Jessica Verdi	...	Macy's Shopper (uncredited)
Brad Lee Wind	...	Businessman in Subway (uncredited)

Directed by
Tim Story

Writing credits (WGA)
Luc Besson		(earlier screenplay)
Robert Ben Garant		(screenplay) &
Thomas Lennon		(screenplay) and
Jim Kouf		(screenplay)

Produced by
Luc Besson	....	producer
Steve Chasman	....	co-producer
Ira Shuman	....	executive producer
Robert Simonds	....	executive producer
Aaron Wilder	....	development executive

Original Music by
Christophe Beck
Tim Boland

Cinematography by
Vance Burberry		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Stuart Levy

Casting by
Ilene Starger

Production Design by
Mayne Berke

Art Direction by
Maria L. Baker
Randall Richards

Set Decoration by
Jackie Carr

Costume Design by
Sanja Milkovic Hays

Makeup Department
Tammy Ashmore	....	makeup artist
June Brickman	....	key makeup artist
Nathan J. Busch II	....	hair department head: second unit, New York (as Nathan J. Busch)
Victor DeNicola	....	hair department head: New York (as Victor DeNicola Jr.)
Kelly Gleason	....	makeup department head: New York
Erma Kent	....	hair stylist
Beth Miller	....	hair stylist: Jimmy Fallon
Patricia Regan	....	makeup department head: New York
Christina Smith	....	makeup department head
Joanetta Stowers	....	makeup artist: Queen Latifah
Julie Taylor	....	hair designer: Queen Latifah (as Julie B. Taylor)
Kenneth Walker	....	hair department head

Production Management
Charlie Davis	....	post-production supervisor
Paul Deason	....	unit production manager
Michele Giordano	....	production supervisor
Cheryl Quarantiello	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kathleen E. Kearney	....	additional second assistant director
Michelle L. Keiser	....	second assistant director: New York
Murphy Occhino	....	second second assistant director
Matt Rebenkoff	....	first assistant director: second unit
Marty Eli Schwartz	....	first assistant director
Brian Smrz	....	second unit director
Rebecca Strickland	....	second assistant director
Adam T. Weisinger	....	second second assistant director: second unit
Eric Yellin	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Peter Allburn	....	camera scenic: New York
David H. Allen	....	property master
Craig Baron	....	set dresser
Toni Barton	....	assistant art director
Mike Blaze	....	property master
Stan Cockerell	....	assistant property master
John Davis	....	storyboard artist
Frank Didio	....	co-construction coordinator
Rusty Dumas	....	storyboard artist
Ilana Gordon	....	art department assistant
Robert Hale	....	head paint foreman
Betty Krul	....	set designer
Victor Littlejohn	....	assistant property master
Addy McClelland	....	art coordinator: New York
Timothy Metzger	....	leadman
Ron Petagna	....	head carpenter
Mike Piccirillo	....	art department coordinator
Chuck Potter	....	set decorator: New York
Jeffrey Rollins	....	on-set dresser
John J. Rutchland III	....	construction coordinator
Evelyn Sakash	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Chris David	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matt Dubin	....	mixing recordist
Michael Hoffman	....	sound mixer: B unit
Ryan Isbell	....	sound recordist
Jason Johnston	....	second boom operator
Shawn Kennelly	....	foley mixer
Cliff Latimer	....	supervising adr & dialogue editor
Tommy Louie	....	boom operator: New York
Laura Macias	....	foley artist
Brian Miksis	....	sound mixer: New York
Piero Mura	....	sound effects editor
Tom Nelson	....	sound mixer: New York
David Obermeyer	....	sound mixer
Phillip W. Palmer	....	production sound mixer: additional photography
Erin Michael Rettig	....	sound engineer
Terry Rodman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeff Sawyer	....	sound effects editor
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	foley editor (as Solange Schwalbe)
Nick Shaffer	....	sound effects recordist
Steven Stuhr	....	sound effects recordist
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Karl Wasserman	....	sound utility: New York
David A. Whittaker	....	supervising sound editor
Ronald L. Wright	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
J.C. Brotherhood	....	special effects director
Burt Dalton	....	special effects supervisor
Albert Delgado	....	special effects
Ron Rosegard	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
David Beedon	....	compositor: Pixel Magic
Michael Curtis	....	digital compositor
Patrick Flanagan	....	digital compositor
Tyler Foell	....	digital effects artist
Jim Gorman	....	digital compositor
Mike Hardison	....	computer graphics supervisor
James David Hattin	....	lead compositor
Steve Jaworski	....	digital compositor
Ryan Jensen	....	previs artist
Bonnie Kanner	....	visual effects executive producer: Pixel Magic
Patrick Keenan	....	digital compositor: Pacific Title
Brian A. Lamb	....	scanning and recording
John R. McConnell	....	2D compositor: Pixel Magic
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Karen M. Murphy	....	visual effects producer
Shannon Leigh Olds	....	visual effects editor
Reid Paul	....	senior digital effects supervisor
Reid Paul	....	visual effects producer
Andrew Romine	....	digital artist: Pixel Magic
Kevin Struckman	....	CG artist: Pixel Magic
Jeff Varga	....	digital effects artist
Juan Carlos Vargas	....	visual effects (as Juan Vargas)
Scott Paquin	....	animator (uncredited)

Stunts
Ray Abbott	....	utility stunts
Kevin Abercrombie	....	stunt driver
Keith Adams	....	stunt driver
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunt coordinator
Joni Avery	....	stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunt driver
Omar Ayala	....	stunts
Dean Bailey	....	utility stunts
Ted Barba	....	stunts
Jill Brown	....	stunt double
Joe Bucaro III	....	stunts
Richard Burden	....	stunt driver
Jwaundace Candece	....	stunt double: Queen Latifah
John Cenatiempo	....	stunts
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts
William Cote	....	stunt driver
Angelina Cruz	....	stunt driver
Jeff Danoff	....	stunt driver: car crashes
Cesar Alvarez del Castillo	....	stunt performer
Annie Ellis	....	stunts
Peter Epstein	....	stunts
Corey Michael Eubanks	....	stunt driver
Debbie Evans	....	stunt driver: BMWs
Dane Farwell	....	stunt driver
Stephanie Finochio	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunt driver
Al Goto	....	stunts
Tad Griffith	....	stunt driver
Thomas Robinson Harper	....	stunt coordinator
Anita Hart	....	stunt double: Jenifer Esposito
Alisa Hensley	....	stunt performer
Cort Hessler	....	stunt driver
Donald John Hewitt	....	stunt driver
Kevin L. Jackson	....	stunt double
Terry Jackson	....	stunts
Keii Johnston	....	stunts
Mike Justus	....	utility stunts
Donna Keegan	....	stunts
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunt driver
Rachel Kimsey	....	stunts
Rachel Kimsey	....	utility stunts
Barbara Anne Klein	....	stunt performer
Horace Knight	....	stunts
Mark Kubr	....	stunts
Paul M. Lane	....	car stunts
Shawn Lane	....	stunt driver
Tony Lazzara	....	stunt driver
Malosi Leonard	....	stunts
Diana R. Lupo	....	stunts
Jalil Jay Lynch	....	stunts
Alex Madison	....	utility stunts
Tina Mckissick	....	stunt driver
Carol Neilson	....	stunts
Carrick O'Quinn	....	stunts
Carl Paoli	....	stunt double: Jimmy Fallon
Anthony T. Pennello	....	utility stunts
Denney Pierce	....	stunts
Stephen A. Pope	....	stunts
Scott Richards	....	stunt driving coordinator
Katie Rowe	....	stunts
Ann Scott	....	stunts
Derrick Simmons	....	stunts
Brian Smrz	....	stunt coordinator
Shirley Smrz	....	utility stunts
Brian Smyj	....	utility stunts
Russell Solberg	....	stunt coordinator
Erik Solky	....	utility stunts
Jay Spadaro	....	stunt performer
Petra Sprecher	....	stunts
Shawnna Thibodeau	....	stunt double
Frank Torres	....	utility stunts
Kym Washington	....	stunt double
Kym Washington	....	stunt driver
Darlene Ava Williams	....	utility stunts
Scott Workman	....	stunts
Boni Yanagisawa	....	utility stunts
Bill Young	....	stunt driving coordinator
Lisa Dempsey	....	stunts (uncredited)
Daniel Maldonado	....	stunt driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William Ambrose	....	key rigging grip
Michael Bauman	....	gaffer
Barry Berona	....	assistant camera: second unit
Larry Blanford	....	director of photography: second unit, Los Angeles
Mike Bonnaud	....	assistant chief lighting technician
John Bramley	....	still photographer
Jan Burgess	....	camera loader: New York
J.A. Byerly	....	rigging gaffer
Philippe Carr-Forster	....	camera operator
Stephen Consentino	....	Steadicam operator: New York
Scott Crabbe	....	digital video assist operator: second unit
Joseph Czerw	....	grip: New York
Thomas M. Dangcil	....	electrician
Donald D. Davidson	....	electrician
Andy Day	....	gaffer
Christopher Duskin	....	camera operator
Michael Fastoso	....	rigging grip
Michael FitzMaurice	....	camera operator: second unit
David Golia	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Christopher F. Graneto	....	grip
Jimmy Harritos	....	electrician
Kerry Hayes	....	still photographer
Mason Hersey	....	first assistant camera
Ronald Hersey	....	director of photography: second unit, New York
Steve Hertler	....	assistant camera: aerial unit
Troi Horton	....	grip
Jay M. Huntoon	....	digital video assist operator
Nils Johnson	....	key video assist operator: New York
Jacques Jouffret	....	Steadicam operator
Michael Kenner	....	key grip: second unit
David Leite	....	rigging grip
Ryan Louden	....	grip
Christopher Lucchese	....	grip
John Lynch	....	rigging grip
Luis Moreno	....	lighting technician
Jerry Mundy	....	rigging electrician
Ed Nessen	....	film loader: New York
Richard Osborn Jr.	....	assistant camera
Nicolas Restrepo	....	first assistant camera
Eric Schilling	....	assistant camera
Mark Schmidt	....	camera operator: second unit
Tim Soronen	....	best boy grip
Sandor Temlock	....	assistant camera
David J. Thompson	....	camera operator: second unit
Michael Tolochko	....	electrician
John 'JW' Warner	....	key grip
Fred Weigle	....	assistant camera
James D. Wickman	....	dolly grip
Earl C. Williman	....	rigging best boy
Scott C. Williman	....	rigging
Chris Lombardozzi	....	generator operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Chris Bustard	....	extras casting: additional photography
Lee Genick	....	extras casting
Alisa Kasmer	....	casting associate
Jeff Olan	....	extras casting
Tony Rasmussen	....	extras casting: local
Janice Wilde	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Daniel J. Adkins	....	costume supervisor: second unit
Jill Kliber	....	assistant costume designer
Lawrence Quon	....	set costumer
Irena Stepic	....	key costumer

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Dennis McNeill	....	color timer
Jonny Winograd	....	associate editor
Anthony J. Camaioni	....	additional assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Pete Anthony	....	conductor
Spring Aspers	....	music supervisor
Bronwen Boyan	....	music coordinator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Andrew Kaiser	....	composer: additional music
Kevin Kliesch	....	orchestrator
Queen Latifah	....	music consultant
Jason Lloyd	....	scoring assistant
Brian Richards	....	music editor
John Rodd	....	score recordist
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Tom Steel	....	scoring assistant
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer
Bill Talbott	....	scoring technician
Terry Wilson	....	music editor: temp score & final

Transportation Department
Anthony S. Loguzzo	....	picture car coordinator
Dave Robling	....	transportation coordinator
William Smallwood	....	driver
Tom Sweeney	....	transportation office administrator

Other crew
Regina Bailey	....	photo double: Gisele Bundchen
Paul Belenardo	....	production accountant
Laura Berning	....	location scout
Tyson Bidner	....	location manager: second unit
LaWanda Black	....	assistant: Queen Latifah (as LaWanda 'LB' Black)
Ciara Bresnihan	....	production assistant
Brantley Brown	....	assistant: Luc Besson
Jeffrey A. Brown	....	location assistant
Brinton Bryan	....	additional set production assistant
Jenn Bubka	....	set production assistant: New York, second unit
Maurice Cabrera	....	parking coordinator
Elizabeth C. Camp	....	set production assistant: second unit
Adam Carroll	....	production assistant
Cory Cate	....	production assistant
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot
Jean Chien	....	assistant location manager: New York
Kyle Cookmeyer	....	production assistant
Jan Cosby	....	first assistant accountant
Scott Cronan	....	set production assistant: second unit
Mike Crotty	....	production assistant
J.J. Dalton	....	set production assistant: second unit
Heather Deaton	....	assistant: Robert Simonds
Jason DeMeo	....	production assistant
Brian Evans	....	production assistant
Glen Evans	....	production assistant
Gary Falco	....	assistant: Jimmy Fallon
John Fedynich	....	location manager
Andreas Fehrle	....	production assistant
Scott Ferlisi	....	location assistant: New York
Carey Field	....	additional set production assistant
Justin J. Fisher	....	production assistant
John J. Fitzgerald	....	additional set production assistant
Tim Fitzgerald	....	production assistant: second unit
Rob Frank	....	key assistant
Lauren Fritz	....	location scout
Cliff Fuller	....	assistant production office coordinator: New York
Steve Gehrke	....	script supervisor
Marc C. Geschwind	....	extras coordinator
Lisa Goldman	....	production assistant
Andrew D. Goodman	....	production assistant
Mike Grosky	....	location assistant
Eric Gruber	....	assistant: Jimmy Fallon
Seth William Hansen	....	additional set production assistant
Michael Hartel	....	location scout
Angela Heald	....	production coordinator
Michael Hendrickson	....	production executive: Fox
Mark D. Houston	....	assistant post-production accountant
Kendra C. Johnson	....	stand-in: Queen Latifah
Cynthia Kao	....	production secretary
Lisa Katcher	....	script supervisor
Erica Kay	....	production coordinator
Mike Kohl	....	production assistant
Thomas K. Lee	....	production assistant
Ian Leith	....	production assistant
Thomas Longo	....	extras coordinator: on-set
Sean Ludlam	....	production office assistant
Nicole Luther	....	set production assistant: second unit
David B. Lyons	....	production assistant
Richard Lyons	....	theatrical consultant: Queen Latifah
Matthew Mason	....	production assistant
Debra Matlock	....	title designer: main titles
Gil McKinney	....	set production assistant
Shaun McNally	....	production assistant
Daniel A. Mondschain	....	production coordinator: re-shoots
Tracy L. Moody	....	additional script supervisor
Michael Neale	....	location manager
Rick Negron	....	adr loop group
Jennifer Quesenbery	....	location assistant
Golan Ramras	....	production assistant
Paul Rathburn	....	caterer
Will Reichel	....	production assistant
Guillaume Renberg	....	remote head technician
Jonathan Roumie	....	location scout
Christina Schaich	....	production assistant
Eva M. Schroeder	....	key assistant location manager
Chris Shadley	....	production assistant
Karen Shane	....	second assistant accountant
Jeffrey Shepherd	....	assistant location manager
Hilary Smith	....	assistant location manager
Billy Taylor	....	production assistant
Frank Tignini	....	set production assistant: second unit
Daniel Tresca	....	location coordinator
Ken Twohy	....	production assistant
Craig Vegas	....	production assistant
David Velasco	....	location scout
Brendan Walsh	....	production assistant
Dannon Walters	....	craft service
Francis Meade Warner	....	production secretary
Cash Warren	....	assistant: Tim Story
Reggie White Jr.	....	stand-in: Henry Simmons
Adam Wiesner	....	production assistant
Alex L. Worman	....	unit publicist
Helen Alexis Yonov	....	production assistant: second unit
Teddy Yoon	....	location assistant
Kim Zubick	....	assistant: Ira Shuman
Yannick Fauchier	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Mark R. Leins	....	stabilized remote head technician (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Europa Corp.
• Robert Simonds Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (2004) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (all media)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title (opticals)
• Pixel Magic (visual effects)
• Image Engine Design (pre-visualization)

Other Companies

• Bill Young's Precision Driving Team  precision driving (as Bill Young's Driving Team)
• Central Casting  extras casting
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes, dollies and remote camera systems
• Flying Pictures  Gyrosphere aerial camera system provided by
• J.L. Fisher  camera dollies
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  music preparation (as JoAnn Kane Music Services)
• Loop de Loop  voice casting
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios, The  score recording (as The Newman Stage, Twentieth Century Fox)
• O'Henry Sound Studios  score mixed at (as O'Henry Recording Studios)
• Otto Nemenz International  Arriflex cameras provided by
• Pacific Title  end titles and opticals
• Pictorvision  aerial camera system
• Planet Fez  title design: main titles
• RPM Group  promotion and marketing
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Technicolor Weddington  sound editorial services
• Technovision USA  remote crane
• Wilshire Stages, The  digital sound recording and re-recording
• popflux  main title animation

Also Known As:

New York Taxi (France)
Taxi 2004 (UK) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sensuality and brief violence.

Runtime:

97 min | USA:104 min (extended version)

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English | Portuguese | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Norway:7 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:MG6 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12PG | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

23rd St. & Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: When the red BMW drives down the sidewalk

Goofs:

Continuity: The front license plate on the taxi is clearly an NY plate, but yet at the bridge gap scene the rear plate is New Jersey.

Quotes:

Belle: What are you trying to do?... A 78-point turn?

Movie Connections:

References Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Soundtrack:

Wild Thing

Boys will like it but the rest of us will be turned off by the lack of imagination, spark or anything resembling originality

Washburn is an undercover cop who, after yet another job ending in a crashed car, has his license taken away and put back on the street. Meanwhile cycle courier Belle has finally gotten her taxi license and is preparing her souped up vehicle for the New York City streets. When a bank robbery in progress is called in, Washburn commandeers Belle's cab and gets involved in a high-speed chase with a group of Brazilian supermodels in a red BMW. Thrown off the case by the FBI, Washburn wants to catch the gang to get his job back, while Belle agrees to help so that she can get her taxi out of lockup.

I quite liked the original for what it was so I decided to give this film a try to see if it could manage to be fun. I'll be honest and say that the trailer attracted me because it had car chases, a bit of a laugh and some faux-lesbian teasing – there, gone are my 'art-house' credentials! I hoped that these elements could be kept fun and that the film could have a spark to it in some area that would raise it above the genre and actually make it fun to watch. Sadly I was wrong and my worries about the effort put into this film were realized in the first few minutes of the film where a skinny person on a bike is revealed to be Belle – even though their body shapes could not be more different! With this lack of attention to detail I did not have high hopes but I figured I was being picky and tried to get past it. However from here on in everything is exactly as you would expect – lacking imagination and effort in almost every regard.

The plot is nonsense but to pick on that is to be too demanding because none of us expected anything too cohesive or logical but suffice to say that attempts to build stories around the characters are all flat and uninteresting. However what I did need from the film was action, excitement, comedy and spark. The action is OK but nothing special – the use of CGI cars to make impossible stunts really takes away from the impact of the action, while the limitations of the busy streets means that the car chases are very tightly cut and never feel real and impressive. This reduces how excited the audience can feel and me and the other 15 people in the cinema sat rather impassive for most of the action scenes. With this OK, then the comedy needed to match it to produce an OK film, but it didn't. Not at all. The comedy is partly based on that wonderful comic device – that black people are cool and sassy while white people are geeky and uptight. Oh, how I never tire of seeing racial stereotypes enforced in the name of comedy. With this old chestnut wheeled out again, the rest of the comedy falls into line and I never really laughed more than once. The button pushing and lack of imagination continues with the robbers themselves who are nothing more than legs and skin who are there to attract an idiotic and salivating male audience (ie – me) on the promise of titillation. They don't deliver this very well at all and the scenes where they try to feel cheap, tacky and exploitative instead of sexy and fresh.

The cast are lumbered with the material but they don't do as much as perhaps they could have done to make it better. Fallon is annoying and geeky – simply filling the 'white' cliché in the 'cool black/geeky white' combo. Latifah continues to just play the easy ethnic cliché stuff for every penny.

I don't know if she is like this in real life but I must admit that I do find her ethnic cliché to be lazy and rather offensive – her smart-mouth, impatience and speed to violence has been in many of her last few roles and I don't think it is the best use of her position, but then again if you put money in front of me then I'd probably do the same. Esposito is pretty wasted in a thankless role before being used as a piece of meat for the sake of selling the film to the male audience (yes, yes, I admit it). The models are nothing but eye candy and I didn't think they did it very well.

Overall this is not a terrible film because it will appeal to boys and young teenagers with its noisy mix of unattainable leggy women, fast cars, basic humour and racial stereotyping; the target audience for this is shown even in the cut – which removes a use of the MF word so that it can get to a younger audience. For me though I found it lacking any sort of imagination, spark or wit and instead just took the easy line of cliché, stereotype and noise. It will appeal to some, but not to me, and it was an effort to get to the end.