Transporter 2 review by Cinema Guru Boy

Have you ever watched a movie and just thought, "Y'know there's just to much damn plot here, it's really getting in the way of the action scenes"? Have you ever watched a movie and thought, "This movie is good, but if there were only more dodging of automatic weapons"? Have you ever watched a movie and thought, "If they could've only made it a little les realistic..."? Well don't expect to think any of this having seen Transporter 2. If you're not a fan of this genre, there will be no redemption for you. But if you're okay with the fact that there's only barely enough plot to thread together a collection of over-the-top chase scenes and hand-to-hand combats, well, that's all this movie is trying to do.

Is hard to tell how long this film takes place after the first one left off, but Frank (Jason Statham) is now living in Miami and has taken a temporary job for a month chauffering the 7-year-old son (Hunter Cleary) of American politician Billings (Matther Modine) and his stunning trophy wife, Audrey (Amber Valletta). Frank has become attached to the boy, Jack, and when a kidnapping is attempted, Frank has to become personally involved. That's about it. It's not unlike Man on Fire, at first anyway, but then it just becomes a forum for Statham to show what a badass he can be and how much unrealistic action that director Louis Leterrier, stunt coordinator Artie Malesci and Martial Arts choreographer Cory Yuen can possibly jam into an hour and a half.

The film stays relatively loyal to the original as writers Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen returned to write this one, and Leterrier and Yuen were also major player in the production of the first film. The cast seemed less enthusiastic to reprise their roles. Other than Statham, the only returning cast meber was Francois Berleand as Inspector Tarconi, the French agent who was kind of a probation officer for Frank in the first one, is now his best buddy, coming to visit Frank in Miami and provide the film's comic relief. It was kind of disheartening to see this character turned into a dopey inside source, but on the other hand, character development doesn't exactly lie at the heart of the movie. If you've read my review on The Island, the Ewan McGregor/Scarlet Johansson sci-fi vehicle, then it's hard to say what I liked about this film. Every reason I gave for hating The Island is the exact reason I could give for liking . The conveluted plot only being in place to hold the impossible chase scenes together... So why was it okay for Transporter 2, but not The Island? Maybe because the first Transporter set up the expectation of nothing more than a silly action popcorn flick. Maybe because the filmmakers know they're making little more than a collection of fight and chase sequences. Maybe because The Island took itself too seriously, and when you try to make an ambitious film and fall short, it looks so much worse than if you try to make a silly guilty pleasure flick and excede. Or maybe I'm just using double standards because I hate Michael Bay and I at least respect Luc Besson.

Just don't go into this movie with expectations of seeing a film of political scandal, a deeply emotional family unit, and philosophical assumptions on the motivations of terrorists. Because that all takes a backseat to Jason Statham kicking the asses of eight inept henchmen all at once. That's what this film truly chronicles. Eddie Murphy said it best in Bowfinger, "We making a movie here, not a film!"


7 out of 10 Jackasses
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