Customer Reviews

Taxi (Original French Version)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I guess the Germans just like picking on the French. In the 1998 French action/comedy film TAXI, notorious German bank robbers, dubbed the Mercedes Gang, are giving fits to the French constabulary. These brazen criminals have a habit of publicly stating their intended target days prior to commiting the actual robberies. And they've been getting away with it. The Marseilles police force get word that their city is next and make preparations. Which prove to be embarassingly futile as the Mercedes Gang once again have their way, thanks to the bumbling of hapless young Police Inspector Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec (Frederic Diefenthal). This sucks even more for Emilien as he's been trying to impress Petra, the gorgeous teutonic Chief Inspector.

But TAXI is also a buddy film so Emilien gets a break when he bumps into Daniel Morales (Samy Naceri), a pizza delivery boy turned daredevil taxi driver. Emilien, who can't drive, catches Daniel massively speeding and sees potential in the cabbie's skills. Daniel drives his tricked-up taxi so fast that his passengers vomit upon disembarking. Under threat of wresting away Daniel's driver's license, Emilien forces him to help ensnare the Mercedes Gang.

If you've only seen the lame American version of TAXI, you might be wondering about the original French picture. Is it worth it? Yes, it is. Do yourself a favor and get your mitts on it. The original TAXI is funny and action-oriented. Action mostly by way of gripping car chases and stunts, mind you, but these sequences are shot with vivid, testosterone-raising energy. Naceri (Daniel) and Diefenthal (Emilien) make a good odd couple and come thru with several hilarious moments. Naceri - street savvy, brash, yet sweet - is definitely the breakout star of the film. Bernard Farcy, who plays the very politically incorrect and befuddled Commisioner Gibert, gets a chance to flex his comedic muscles. But I probably laughed the hardest with the bit about the Korean cabbies. And, if humor's not your bag, TAXI also offers up two eye candies in the persons of the statuesque Emma Sjoberg (Petra) and the very sexy Marion Cotillard (Lilly). To quote these cats: "Ooo-la-la!"

Written by Director/Producer/Writer Luc Besson (The Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition), The Transporter (Special Delivery Edition), La Femme Nikita (Special Edition), TAXI isn't only for gearheads. It's pretty much for anyone who enjoys a good, unassuming action comedy buddy flick. And there's even a bit of romance thrown in. TAXI was very well received in France, good enough that it merited 3 sequels (Taxi 2, Taxi 3 (Original French Version with English Subtitles), and TAXI 4), all penned by Luc Besson and all with Naceri and Diefenthal reprising their roles. As mentioned, TAXI inspired a dubious American remake in 2004 with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah, as well as a pretty nifty Bollywood adaptation (DHOOM). Ignore the U.S. remake, check out Dhoom, and definitely take a peek at the French sequels. But watch the original TAXI first. C'est un bon film ! (did I say it right?)

Beware, though. I ordered this particular dvd, and it doesn't come with English sub-titles. I ended up having to purchase another copy, this time an Asian import (but it provided English sub-titles for the feature film).

I've always love Luc Besson's movies - and all of the Taxi serias are funny! Car racing is very cute too, even though I am not into it. Better to watch in original language and read subtitles, so you can actually have a real "taste" of his movies.

I saw this movie when it first came out at the cinema and owned the DVD , but when I moved to America the bloomin' DVD was the wrong format and didn't work. I found this one and have practically worn it out watching it! Love it! Original and best!

This is the original version of the film that was remade with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah, which, to be honest with you, I haven't seen (I may never, actually). It's also the first in what became a franchise--there's actually a *fourth* film in the series, which came out earlier this year.

But it's hard to top the sheer velocity of this film, from the opening credits and the riff of "Misirlou" by Dick Dale, shamelessly stolen from "Pulp Fiction," to the climactic chase through the streets of Paris. There's plenty of humor, a little bit of sexiness (Marion Cotillard has to be one of the most beautiful women alive today, and then they throw in Emma Sjöberg just for good measure), and everything's wrapped up in just about an hour and a half. Seriously, this is totally worth owning a region-free DVD player for.

This first film also pits French automotive ingenuity against the Germans; the second takes on the Japanese. The less said about the third (with a Sylvester Stallone cameo, no less), the better, and I haven't seen the fourth one yet, but even if it's only as good as the third, it will still be leagues better than most American action films being made today.

Luc Besson is the brains behind this, and he's the reason I ended up watching this--Léon: The Professional is in my top five favorite films of all time. So try to watch this by hook or by crook, but definitely enjoy yourself!

If you're into car chases, explosions, senseless shootings in which
nobody gets hurt, tall bosomy leggy beauties, nagging mums, bad
Germans, dumb cops and Marseille, this film is your heart beating. If
not... you will be watching your wristwatch, it'll be long 90
minutes for you.

Don't expect anything close to believability and plot. The beginning's
race of the pizza delivery (!) is creative, and adequate choice of
music makes it part of cinema history. The other car chases, including
of course the one with the German baddies over the short bridge, are
what makes this film stand apart. Were it spoken in American English
one would think this is popcorn cinema. Being directed by Luc Besson...
I understand it's a French classic, maybe its biggest merit lies in the
fact it's French, that they could wind up "being American" *(such a
"French" obsession, by the way). Its drawback may be just that: it being
French, I expected more: subtlety, intelligent humour, sociological
points, dark, seedy characters. Instead, we get a good American commercial movie.

Enjoy like a pink bubble gum.

PS: Marion Cotillard looks gorgeous like a selfish gal, Frédéric Diefenthal overacts, but the plot makes it impossible not to, "Emma Wiklund" is an appropriate nymphet, whereas Samy Naceri is a surprise. He gives soul to a cardboard role. Mme. Gorary's Camille (Émilien's mum) gives adequate comic relief.

Note: this is the first French comedy I've seen, and I watched it subbed. Please keep in mind when reading review.

I figured I should watch this movie because of the writer: Luc Besson. Everything I've seen by Luc Besson has impressed me thus far: The Fifth Element takes every scifi convention, throws it in a blender along with crazy funny mayhem, and out pops one of the most original and stunning movies quite possibly ever made. The two Transporter films were madcap action, mixed with awesome stunts. I went into this film expecting Transporter/Fifth Element-like craziness.

Instead, Taxi is a comedy. A French buddy comedy. Which has very different comedic timing and sets up the humor in a very different way from the typical USA buddy comedy films. While it lacks the craziness of the Fifth Element and Transporter, it gains that back, oddly enough, in charm. The stunts/FX are very simple. I could imagine this appealing to recent high school grads who think foreign film is cool.

While I can't recommend this to the vast majority of my own twentysomething friends, who can't stand subbed only foreign film, I would recommend this film to American viewers who wants a taste of what French comedy is like, and what is considered somewhat popular for comedy in France (this movie now has 3 sequels). It was an eye-opener for me.

After watching the American version of this movie, I became curious about the original French version.

This movie has a lot of great humor in it. I laughed a lot throughout this movie. The good kind of laughter were you are supposed to laugh.

I got together with a group of friends for a "Taxi" night. We watched the American version and this version. We all agreed the original French version is better.

If you like good action movies with humor, you will love this movie.

Daniel is a taxi driver who likes to race cars. Emilien is a cop who just can't seem to pass his driving test. When Emilien catches Daniel speeding, he agrees to overlook this offence if Daniel agrees to act as his chauffer for one month and help him to capture the Mercedes Gang, a group of Germans who have been robbing banks across Europe and then escaping in red Mercedes.

This action-comedy, scripted by Luc Besson ("Nikita", "Leon", "The Fifth Element") is a lot of fun. Judging by the number of French comedies that are remade in English, French humour seems to appeal greatly to English-speaking audiences and this is no exception. It's filled with the sort of French buffoonery that the world loves. Add to that some really great car chases and it's no surprise that this film managed to give rise to three sequels and an American remake. I haven't seen the remake, but I can't imagine that it could be any better than this.

I guess the Germans just like picking on the French. In the 1998 French action/comedy film TAXI, notorious German bank robbers, dubbed the Mercedes Gang, are giving fits to the French constabulary. These brazen criminals have a habit of publicly stating their intended target days prior to commiting the actual robberies. And they've been getting away with it. The Marseilles police force get word that their city is next and make preparations. Which prove to be embarassingly futile as the Mercedes Gang once again have their way, thanks to the bumbling of hapless young Police Inspector Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec (Frederic Diefenthal). This sucks even more for Emilien as he's been trying to impress Petra, the gorgeous Teutonic Chief Inspector.

But TAXI is a also a buddy film so Emilien gets a break when he bumps into Daniel Morales (Samy Naceri), a pizza delivery boy turned daredevil taxi driver. Emilien, who can't drive, catches Daniel massively speeding and sees potential in the cabbie's skills. Daniel drives his tricked-up taxi so fast that his passengers vomit upon disembarking. Under threat of wresting away Daniel's driver's license, Emilien forces him to help ensnare the Mercedes Gang.

If you've only seen the lame American version of TAXI, you might be wondering about the original French picture. Is it worth it? Yes, it is. Do yourself a favor and get your mitts on it. The original TAXI is funny and action-oriented. Action mostly by way of gripping car chases and stunts, mind you, but these sequences are shot with vivid, testosterone-raising energy. Naceri (Daniel) and Diefenthal (Emilien) make a good odd couple and come thru with several hilarious moments. Naceri - street savvy, brash, yet sweet - is definitely the breakout star of the film. Bernard Farcy, who plays the very politically incorrect and befuddled Commisioner Gibert, gets a chance to flex his comedic muscles. But I probably laughed the hardest with the bit about the Korean cabbies. And, if humor's not your bag, TAXI also offers up two eye candies in the persons of the statuesque Emma Sjoberg (Petra) and the very sexy Marion Cotillard (Lilly). To quote these cats: "Ooo-la-la!"

Written by Director/Producer/Writer Luc Besson (The Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition), The Transporter (Special Delivery Edition), La Femme Nikita (Special Edition)), TAXI isn't only for gearheads. It's pretty much for anyone who enjoys a good, unassuming action comedy buddy flick. And there's even a bit of romance thrown in. TAXI was very well received in France, good enough that it merited 3 sequels (Taxi 2, Taxi 3 (Original French Version with English Subtitles), and TAXI 4), all penned by Luc Besson and all with Naceri and Diefenthal reprising their roles. As mentioned, TAXI inspired a dubious American remake in 2004 with Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah, as well as a pretty nifty Bollywood adaptation (DHOOM). Ignore the U.S. remake, check out Dhoom, and definitely take a peek at the French sequels. But watch the original TAXI first. C'est un bon film ! (did I say it right?)

You will be hard pressed to find a comparable movie, and that alone makes this film worth the watch. Come on, pizza guys on mopeds, German crooks, and a taxi driver hero, with the wackiest car since the back-to-the-future-delorian. Actually just the pizza guys' parade featuring guys doing flips on scooters is enough to justify watching this film.

If you find this watch it. You will totally flip out.