A Life Spent Reading

Yup, watched the second one. More car chases, more elegant Gallic violence, more really unlikely stunts. The supporting cast here was good again. (I was surprised to see Matthew Modine in what amounts to almost a bit part.)

Basically, if you liked the first one you’ll like the second and vice versa. The main draws here are the over-the-top car chase sequences and the fight scenes, which look like a cross between the usual Hollywood fisticuffs and something Jackie Chan would put together. The fire hose sequence was especially good this time around. This installment is fractionally less good than the original because of some really terrible over-acting on the part of some of the bad guys, but what the hell – if you want to see acting go rent Glengarry, Glen Ross. If you’re thinking of buying either Transporter 1 or 2, save yourself some time and just order the collection.

This French-made film (mostly spoken in English) was good for a lazy Friday night with nothing better to do. The plot was paper-thin and some of the acting downright silly, but overall if you want some mindless action and violence it isn’t a bad movie.

The idea is: an ex-military special forces type now is retired and working as a “transporter”, i.e., someone who will drive any package anywhere for the right price. The fellow is more than a little anal-retentive, spending lots of time polishing his high-end Beemer and insisting on following his “rules” (of which there are three) down to the letter. Of course, the one time he breaks one of the rules it lands him in a whole lot of trouble, but then that trouble is what drives (so to speak) the movie.

French action is different from Hollywood action, and watching this flick you come away with a slightly different taste in your mouth. Japan Times film critic Kaori Shoji once said that Hollywood simply does some things much better than anyplace else, and she was talking about car chase sequences when she said it. But I don’t necessarily agree; the ones in this movie were plenty fast and furious, with a little Gallic cheekiness thrown in for good measure. The martial arts scenes – of which there were many – also owe a debt to French savate, which gives them something of an accent as well.

Jason Statham as the lead is appropriately brawny and seems to have a brain lurking around somewhere as well. Qi Shu plays her character with an exotic prettiness that works well in contrast. All in all, Transporter is not something that’s going to stay with you for years and years, but well worth the price of a rental.