Main Cast: Jason Statham, Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze, Ric Young
Release Year: 2002
Country: FR/US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
An outlaw finds his life becoming all the more dangerous when he turns against a gang of criminals in this action drama. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a former Special Forces officer who lives on the French Mediterranean and has a lucrative second career as a underworld courier for hire. Martin will deliver anything anywhere, but he has three iron-clad rules - once the plan is in motion it cannot be changed, neither he nor his customers are to ever use their real names, and under no circumstances will he open the package. Martin is hired to make a delivery to a wealthy but unscrupulous American known as Wall Street (Matt Schulze), but after taking possession of the package he realizes that whatever is inside happens to be alive. Breaking his own rule, Martin opens the bag to discover a beautiful Asian woman, Lai (Shu Qi), who is bound and gagged. Lai briefly escapes, but Martin captures her, and delivers her to Wall Street as promised. However, after being given a parcel to deliver by Wall Street, Martin finds out what Wall Street is up to - in partnership with Lai's father Mr. Kwai (Ric Young), Wall Street is part of a scheme to smuggle Asian illegal aliens into France. Martin's conscience gets the better of him, and he sets out to rescue Lai and put Wall Street and Mr. Kwai out of business; however, as if this wasn't enough of a challenge, Martin discovers a French detective, Tarconi (Francois Berleand) has gotten wind of his illegal business. The Transporter was the first English-language feature for Hong Kong-based director Corey Yuen, who along with directing a number of HK action flicks designed fight choreography for several American films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Cool, kinetic, and supremely self-assured, this compact little action flick moves far too quickly to sink under the weight of its plot holes and occasional pretensions. Although clearly indebted to writer/producer Luc Besson's previous exercises in Gallic underworld glamour, The Transporter perfectly balances the contributions of co-directors Corey Yuen and Louis Leterrier. Yuen, a Hong Kong vet with a several American fight-choreography credits under his belt, turns in some breathless action set pieces whose grace and economy seem miles away from the blustery Michael Bay school of excess. Leterrier, meanwhile, presumably deserves credit for eliciting such wry humor and genre-defying humanity from the performers. Freed from the cocky, talky constraints of Guy Ritchie's world, star Jason Statham exudes coiled tension underneath his controlled exterior. The tale of an underworld courier's crisis of conscience could too easily slip into mawkish self-parody, but Statham's less-is-more approach lends the scenario an undeniable authenticity; this man, rather than Vin Diesel or The Rock, should be the model for tomorrow's action hero. It helps that Shu Qi makes such a credible combination of victim, femme fatale, and witty foil. After a twisted "meet cute" silly enough to satisfy the most rabid romantic comedy fan, Qi and Statham settle into a delicious chemistry that survives several unlikely plot twists. François Berléand's role as a wise, wary police detective proves problematic, but he and Statham wring as much dramatic frisson as possible from their frequent, pseudo-philosophical tête-à-têtes. Matt Schulze's double-crossing villain is strictly pro forma, but fans of television's Alias will not be surprised to learn that Ric Young achieves an effortless air of smug menace as the imposing and ultimately cold-blooded Mr. Kwai. The Transporter may have failed to cross over at the American box office the way Besson's and Statham's previous efforts did, but it's an unassuming delight in a genre fraught with loud, showy duds. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Doug Rand - Leader; Didier Saint Melin - Boss; Tonio Descanvelle - Thug 1; Laurent Desponds - Thug 2; Matthieu Albertini - Thug 3; Vincent Tulli - Thug
Credit
Nathalie Cheron - Casting, Martine Rapin - Costume Designer, Christophe Cheysson - First Assistant Director, Stephane Moreno Carpio - First Assistant Director, Corey Yuen - Director, Nicolas Trembasiewicz - Editor, Stanley Clarke - Composer (Music Score), Hugues Tissandier - Production Designer, Pierre Morel - Cinematographer, Luc Besson - Producer, Steven Chasman - Producer, Ken Yasumoto - Sound/Sound Designer, Francois-Joseph Hors - Sound/Sound Designer, Didier Lozahic - Sound/Sound Designer, Vincent Tulli - Sound Editor, Philippe Guegan - Stunts Coordinator, Michel Julienne - Stunts Coordinator, Jian Yong Guo - Stunts Coordinator, Luc Besson - Screenwriter, Robert Mark Kamen - Screenwriter, Bruno Privat - Additional Cinematography, Corey Yuen - Action Director, Louis Leterrier - Artistic Director
Frank Martin is hired to deliver a package to an American gangster known only as "Wall Street" in his BMW 735i E38. Breaking one of his rules, Frank opens the package, it is revealed to be a young woman tied up and gagged, by the name of Lai. Initially, Frank simply delivers the package, but when "Wall Street" attempts to kill Frank, Frank returns to the delivery site. Frank injures many of "Wall Street"'s henchmen and takes Lai back to his house, where she explains that there is a large container full of Chinese people. Frank succeeds in an attempt to retrieve a truck full of immigrants.
Frank is aided by a French Police inspector Tarconi. Initially, Tarconi is assigned to investigate the path of destruction that Frank is leaving, but he ends up aiding in the recovery of the containers full of human slaves. Incidentally, although two slave containers are identified, Frank only recovers one at the end of the film. In the DVD commentary, this is remarked upon and it is mentioned that the other container truck was stopped further up the road.
The Transporter premiered in 2,573 theaters, grossing $9,107,816 in the United States[citation needed] and a total of $43,928,932 worldwide.[citation needed]
Cut and uncut releases
In the United States and some other countries, certain sequences of violence were either cut or toned down. The first sequence was the fight on the bus, in which scenes of Jason Statham using a knife were cut. In the second sequence: the final fight on the highway, that sees Frank Martin fighting Wall Street, after he throws Wall Street out of the truck, he is shown being crushed under the wheels of the truck in the original French version. In the PG-13 version, however, he is simply thrown out of the truck and onto the highway.
The uncut fight on the bus can be seen in the "Extended Fight Sequences" on the North American DVD, with no sound, however.
Home media
The DVD version was released on October 23, 2003. This version included fifteen minutes of extended fight scene footage, and a feature-length commentary. On August 23, 2005, the movie was released again in a "Special Delivery Edition". This version included all the features of the original release plus a new behind-the-scenes documentary, a making-of featurette, and a storyboard to film comparison. The movie was also released as a part of "The Transporter Collection", which featured the first two films in the series. On November 14, 2006 the film was released on the Blu-ray format.
Reception
The Transporter was released to a mixed to average critical reception. Rotten Tomatoes has the film at an average rating of 53%[2] and Metacritic has it listed at 51%.[3] The consensus is that "The Transporter delivers the action at the expense of coherent storytelling."[2]Manohla Dargis, of the Los Angeles Times, complimented the action saying, "[Statham] certainly seems equipped to develop into a mid-weight alternative to Vin Diesel. That's particularly true if he keeps working with director Corey Yuen, a Hong Kong action veteran whose talent for hand-to-hand mayhem is truly something to see."[4] However, Roger Ebert took the opposite stance stating, "Too much action brings the movie to a dead standstill."[5] Eric Harrison, of the Houston Chronicle, says, "It's junk with a capital J. The sooner you realize that, the more quickly you can settle down to enjoying it."[6]
