He's a bastard, but he's still my father.
A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * · )
There is a misconception that the lead star in a kung fu movie needs to be asian. The Transporter is an example of the error in this philosophy, and the movie's press suffered for it. If you're expecting a blockbuster action powerhouse film, you're going to be disappointed. If you want a fun kung-fu / car chase movie with about as much of a deep story as Coyote Ugly, The Transporter may be you.
Jason Statham really came out in Snatch, one of the best movies of 2000. It is obvious that he spent a long time in the gym for The Transporter. All throughout the film his shirt miraculously flys off showing his huge arms and washboard abs. I found the greased wrestling match to be a bit much, but the women may dig it. The love-interest, Qi Shu, is part of the decoration, spending the first half of the movie in a schoolgirl-esque skirt and another half prancing around in her underwear. The lead detective, Francois Berleand, is the only other class actor this movie had among the army of evil goatee sporting thugs, but the story dumbed down his character a too much for it to be much worth.
The story in The Transporter is dumb enough to not get in the way of the action. There aren't many plot twists and no detectable subplot, something that would have killed this movie if it was directed by Michael Bay. The "ex special forces black ops" background story is getting a little cliche'. I've been seeing this since Lethal Weapon, but each time it works as a simple and effective way of explaining one's ability to twist out of the way of oncoming machine gun fire and hit three baddies in the eye at a thousand yards while flying through the air. It's stupid and overused but it works. Not every movie can be The Matrix.
The action is the core of this movie and it does not disappoint. The fight scenes in particular are top-notch. There's a lot of good choreography, obviously the result of Corey Yuen, action director for a ton of top martial arts movies. The only thing I would have liked is more wired kung-fu. I think there is a severe lack of good wired kung-fu fight scenes. With a movie as unrealistic as this one, who cares if we don't buy that a guy can kick four times in one jump, it is still cool. While the driving and shootouts aren't so bad, they pale in comparison to the fight scenes. This movie cannot compare to classics like Crouching Tiger, The Killer, The Matrix, or other top-end kung-fu movies, but it holds its own.
The DVD of The Transporter is a fine version of the film. It contains a 2.35 to 1 16x9 enhanced picture and a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that was a bit heavy in the musical bass but otherwise fine. There is a commentary track with Jason Statham and producer Steven Chasman. I cannot recommend the purchase of this movie, it is not a gem in the collection. If found on your shelf, women may scurry away in horror.
The Transporter is a good movie for a rainy Sunday. There are much better movies out there, ones that are probably more deserving of your attention than this. If you've seen all of The Great Movies quite a few times, it can't hurt to give it a shot.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You are free to copy, distribute, display, and make derivative works under the conditions that you give the original author credit and you not use this work for commercial purposes.