Transporter 2 (2005)

Mercenary Frank Martin, who specializes moving goods of all kinds, surfaces again this time in Miami, Florida when he's implicated in the kidnapping of the young son of a powerful USA official.

Director:

Louis Leterrier

Writers:

Luc Besson (characters), Robert Mark Kamen (characters)

Stars:

Jason Statham, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauta

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Statham	...	Frank Martin
Alessandro Gassman	...	Gianni Chellini
Amber Valletta	...	Audrey Billings
Kate Nauta	...	Lola
Matthew Modine	...	Jefferson Billings
Jason Flemyng	...	Dimitri
Keith David	...	Stappleton
Hunter Clary	...	Jack Billings
Shannon Briggs	...	Max
François Berléand	...	Inspector Tarconi
Raymond Tong	...	Rastaman
George Kapetan	...	Dr. Sonovitch
Jeff Chase	...	Vasily
Gregg Weiner	...	Tipov
Gregg Davis	...	Techie at Billings

Storyline

Frank Martin is the best in the business. The ex-Special Forces operative hires himself out as a mercenary "transporter" who moves goods--human or otherwise. Very simple, he delivers, no questions asked. Frank has relocated from the French Mediterranean to Miami, Florida, where as a favor to a friend, Frank is driving for the wealthy Billings family. There's very little that can surprise The Transporter, but young Jack Billings has done just that; Frank has unexpectedly bonded with Jack, age 6, who he drives to and from school. But when Jack is kidnapped, Frank must use his battle-tested combat skills to retrieve the boy and thwart the kidnappers' master plan to release a virus that will kill anyone with whom it comes in contact.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | kidnapping | driver | french | police | 

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Taglines:

The Best In The Business Is Back In The Game.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violent action, sexual content, partial nudity and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France] Official site [Germany]

Country:

France USA

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

2 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

A szállító 2.

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$919,809 (France), 19 August 2005

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,104,608, 4 September 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$43,095,600

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$88,978,202

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp,TF1 Films Production,Current Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only Nokia mobile phones are seen. Among them, the phone used by Frank in the car is the 8910 model, which was discontinued at least a couple of years before the release of the film. The 8910 cannot be used in the United States because it only works on 900 and 1800 GSM bands. There are only two GSM bands in the US, 850 and 1900. The other phone (when Frank opens the glove box to reveal 2-3 more 8910's) is a Nokia 6620.

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Goofs

When Frank is walking in the room full of isolation tents for the various test victims of the virus, the tents obviously have positive pressure inside. If one were trying to isolate an airborne contagion inside, positive pressure would not be used; positive pressure is used to keep contagions out, not in.

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Quotes

Frank Martin: A potato.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, the actors names appear to be hanging from the ceiling of the parking garage.

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Connections

Referenced in Hart of Dixie: Hairdos & Holidays (2011)

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Soundtracks

Say Party
by Matthew Corbett (as Matthew R Corbett) and Mike Wilkie
(c) Illustration musicale/Brutton Music
With Courtesy of Koka Media

User Reviews

Silly fun action movie

TRANSPORTER 2 isn't going to win any awards for its story (whatever happened to Luc Besson anyway?), but for a fun action movie it's about as good as 2005 offered. Jason Statham reprises the role of Frank Martin, a driver with impressive skills in or out of his car. The 2nd film is at least as silly as the first, and not quite as corny in the script, making it a very entertaining way to pass 80 minutes.

Obviously the aim of the film is to capture some of the style of "Golden Era" Hong Kong action films, and Jason Statham does a great job with the help of Cory Yuen's choreography, which is very imaginative and clever (though he reuses a few ideas, e.g. the hosepipe from KISS OF THE DRAGON). Unfortunately the film is blighted by "Hollywood-Style" camera work and editing, which detracts from the choreography... westerners still haven't learnt how to shoot a fight scene as well as a Hong Kong crew (despite having 10x the budget available to do it)... too many closeups, shaky camera that goes against the movement of the action and editing which obscures rather than emphasises what's going on. I'd love to see the action scenes re-edited by one of HK's premier action film editors.

Still, small quibbles really since Hong Kong has pretty much stopped making action films this fun anyway, and TRANSPORTER 2 is still plentifully entertaining as it is :)