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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I hate to be Late, March 31, 2008
Transporter 2 DVD
In this sequel to The Transporter Jason Stratham is in Miami working as a chauffer/bodyguard for a wealthy family who springs into action when the young son of his client is kidnapped. The movie is full of high action car chases and stunts. Set in the beautiful Miami, Florida area, so again if you don't enjoy high action movies, just sit back and enjoy the view.
Highly recommended for fans of Jason Stratham , James Bond movies, and high action movies, especially car chases.
Gunner March, 2008
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46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the original, but still fun, December 1, 2005
If you think the Hollywood movies have been a little slow in action this Summer, the cure has arrived. Jason Statham has returned to repise his role as Frank Martin, The Transporter. Although Frank has traded in his BMW for an Audi, the character is the same and the action takes the first movie up several notches.
This time around, Frank is doing a favor for a friend and is "transporting" the son of a government official to and from school. Frank and the boy have developed a bond since the boy's father (played by Matthew Modine) always seems to be away from home on business and has lost touch with the boy's life (Modine's character gets his son a complete baseball outfit for his birthday, only to find out his son stopped playing last year and is now a pretty good soccer player). Unfortunately, a Miami drug runner (played by Alessandro Gassman) has plans to kidnap the child and use him as the carrier of a deadly virus to kill his father. Now it's up to Frank to save the boy and find the antidote to cure him.
If you enjoyed the first movie, this one won't disappoint. The fight sequences here are choreographed again by Corey Yuen (though he doesn't direct this time around) and Luc Beeson had a hand in the screenplay. This movie doesn't stray far from the original formula that worked so well (fast cars, martial arts battles every few minutes, Statham's quiet manner even in the midst of a dozen guys out to get him, etc). Statham keeps the character low-key through everything, as if nothing can worry the Transporter.
Unfortunately, in an attempt to take everything a step further, there are a few sequences that go over the top. Using a wave runner-on land-to keep up with a bus, literally dodging bullets in a hallway, and Martin's unorthodox method for disabling a bomb under his car are just a few of the moments to make you cringe. And the final battle with Gassman is so far steeped in unreality you'll probably find it hard to swallow the premise. Still, when it comes to one-on-ten combat with an angry mob, Statham makes it beautiful. In one scene of the first movie, he takes down two police officers while holding Qi Shu on his shoulders. In this movie, he disables several bodyguards at once in the same non-lethal manner. In fact, the movie wastes no time showing us Martin still has the moves by giving us one of the best fights in the movie within the first five minutes. And through it all, he never wrinkles his suit. And the sight of Frank behind the wheel of a Ferrari made the entire theater start talking when I watched it. If you thought he could handle a Beemer, wait until he shows you what he can do with a really fast car!
The return of a character from the first movie (I won't spoil the surprise, since I never saw them in any of the previews) really shows us Martin's not just a driving machine-he's a man with friends.
If you're looking for deep, Oscar-winning performances and the feel-good movie of the summer, you won't find it here. If you're willing to suspend your beliefs in reality for a little while and want some over-the-top action and fun, you won't want to miss The Transporter 2.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good action with some silly effects, September 5, 2007
I was not much of a fan of the original The Transporter (Special Delivery Edition), a film which had similar elements to this sequel, but by the end of the movie had pushed itself to such ridiculous levels of disbelief as to leave you rolling your eyes. "Transporter 2" is also patently ridiculous, but this time director Louis Leterrier (who did not direct the original) manages to keep the movie flowing and it's transferable fun manages to overpower the moments that lead our rational brain to say "What the . . ".
Once again, Jason Statham is Frank Martin, a 'Transporter', who moves a customer's valuables from one location to another. He asks no questions about his cargo, keeping to a code that allows him professional detachment. Frank has taken up a temporary job to help out a friend by transporting the son of a U.S. Senator (Mathew Modine). Frank has taken a liking to the boy (Hunter Clary), while his mother, Audrey (Amber Valletta), has taken a liking to Frank. In the midst of this, an international thief for hire, Gianni (Alessandro Gassman), assisted by his borderline dominatrix associate, Lola (Kate Nauta), have kidnapped the son, Jack, with the intention of holding him for ransom, and also making it appear that Frank had a hand in it at the same time. Frank escapes the kidnappers, only to start to believe that there is more to the kidnapping than meets the eye.
"Transporter 2" is one of those films that should come with the warning label to check your brain at the door. Lots of things happen in "Transporter 2" that are outside the boundaries of reality. Cars defy gravity, human beings perform incredible stunts and survive and people are often in the right place at the right time. Yet, the film has a strong charm that is hard to ignore. A lot comes from the presence of Jason Statham. He is all business as Frank Martin, and he cements the film with his no-nonsense attitude. Statham is the epitome of cool in this film, and that is just what it needs. We can't not help but root for this man at the center of the film, and our interest in seeing him pull himself out of his scrapes is at times just plain lifting. Alessandro Gassman has just the right amount of boldness to be fun as the villain and Kate Nauta seems to be channeling a punk rock superstar as a deadly, but sexy assassin.
The film's action, while borderline impossible, is well-staged. Unlike many recent action films that over-edit their action, director Leterrier keeps everything clear and the running. The fight scenes, choreographed by fight-master, Corey Yuen, are as good as anything in recent martial-arts action movies, with a lean towards slightly more realism than, say, Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
If you are looking for some entertaining action then this is it, just don't believe everything you see.
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