The Transporter

December 10, 2004

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 92 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Transporter is the prototypical “guy movie”. There’s non-stop action of all types including car chases, lots of guns, martial arts and the works. If there were bare breasts, it would’ve likely received 5 stars from us.

The Transporter

A beefed up Jason Statham plays Frank Martin. He’s retired from the special forces and now makes his living as a transporter. He’ll deliver anything anywhere with no questions asked. He has only three rules. One, once a deal is made it cannot be altered or changed in any way. Two, no names are used. Three, never open the package.

A situation arises where Frank violates one of his three rules and all hell breaks lose. When things turn sour, we find out he’s highly skilled. He’s a wildman behind the wheel of a car as you would expect from his profession, but he is also a martial arts, firearms expert and generally one bad dude.

This is one of those films where you go strictly for the action. The dialog is nearly non-existent. There’s logic holes through out the storyline and occasionally the laws of physics are stretched. But the action is excellent, and that’s what this movie is about. The opening chase scene is the highlight of the movie. Don’t be surprised to see it on the next revision of our Top 10 Car Chase Movies list.

Director Corey Yuen brings the Hong Kong action flavor to the film. Jason Statham has really beefed up and looks quite natural doing the martial arts scenes, which are numerous. In fact, the fight scenes rival the creative choreography and use of props that one might normally find in a Jackie Chan movie. But Frank Martin is not a comedic character, Statham does an excellent job of playing a totally cool, always in control, action hero.

We would’ve really liked to have seen more car chase sequences especially after they stirred our appetite with that classic opening chase. That’s our only real fault with the action. This movie delivers exactly what is promises and then some. Check your brain at the door, sit back and enjoy the show.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Francois Berleand, Jason Statham, Matt Schulze, PG-13, Shu Qi, Tcheky Karyo, Theatrical