140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
If you hate these type of movies I’ll never convince you to watch one, but I highly recommend it for its humor, irreverence & fun action…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Transporter:
Co-written & co-produced by Luc Besson, The Transporter has been perfectly constructed to appeal to the largest audience imaginable. It’s really something else. Think about it:
- In addition to your usual action movie fans, has cars for the car movie people, building off of the success of the previous year’s The Fast and the Furious
- Statham famous for work in British crime films, so you pull in that crowd
- Martial arts fans
- Set and mostly filmed in France for European filmgoers
- The female lead (Shu Qi) is Chinese
- Although it’s hugely violent, there’s almost no bloodshed, and few deaths, so you can maintain the PG-13 rating
- Statham is set up to be sex symbol to women, but they also include a scene of him kissing (actually getting air underwater from) a male co-star to appeal to gay men, as well. He actually appears shirtless and covered in motor oil…
- The whole thing is filled with hip-hop music.
It’s impressive; the movie is engineered so acutely to draw in all crowds that it’s amazing that it wasn’t actually created by a focus group.
Of course, I’m as susceptible to this as the next person, and really like this movie. Partly it’s because of some of the reasons from above:
- I like action movies if done well (though I have no time for car movies without Steve McQueen)
- I like British crime movies, and Statham has been in my favorite – Snatch
- The martial arts are very impressive. Choreographed by Jet Li collaborator Corey Yuen, the film is a mix of intense, funny, and downright absurd fights. The humor that Jackie Chan invokes with his gravity defying and creative work must certainly be the model here, but there is also a ridiculous quality to some of the scenarios that is clearly intentional and done with a great amount of fun and irreverence. The movie refuses to take itself too seriously, which is the saving grace.
The other thing that makes The Transporter work so well is the quiet effectiveness of the actors. I realize that quiet isn’t the first word you reach for when describing this picture, but the dialogue and methodical, precise way that Statham’s character, Frank Martin, navigates this increasing insanity is a really nice counterbalance to the non-stop action. It helps that Statham is just a really likable and charismatic actor. Shu Qi’s character Lai is also a deceptively enjoyable watch – she really grows on you and hints at some depth that sadly doesn’t totally come to the surface.
The best relationship in the film, however, and the main reason I really enjoy The Transporter, has to be that of Frank Martin and the local police inspector, Tarconi (François Berléand). Tarconi has this beautifully French subtlety, suggesting he understands far more than he lets on. The two characters have this nice chemistry and a relationship clearly meant to invoke the most beautiful of all friendships, that of Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine and Claude Rains’s Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail
The Representation Test Score: D (1 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Jason Statham Frank Martin, Qi Shu (as Shu Qi) Lai, Matt Schulze Wall Street, François Berléand Inspector Tarconi |
| Rating | PG-13 |
| Release Date | Fri 11 Oct 2002 UTC |
| Director | Corey Yuen (as Cory Yuen) |
| Genres | Action, Crime, Thriller |
| Plot | This film is about a man whose job is to deliver packages without asking any questions. Complications arise when he breaks those rules. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 92 |
| Tagline | Rules are made to be broken |
| Writers | Luc Besson (written by) &, Robert Mark Kamen (written by) |
| Year | 2002 |
