By Daniel Etherington
Jason Statham reprises his role as the inscrutable driver in this action movie written and produced by Luc Besson
The opening shot of Transporter 2 consists of a shiny Audi sitting in an underground car park, with neon reflecting off of its curves. It's a scene that recalls a time when Luc Besson was at the forefront of a loosely recognised movement (sometimes
dubbed "le cinéma du look") of young French filmmakers, along with Jean-Jacques Beineix, making films such as Subway which combined Hollywood and advertising imagery with their superficial glamour, thrills and escapism.
There is nothing "arthouse" about this French filmmaker. Since his Hollywood pomp of The Fifth Element and Leon, Luc Besson has scaled back his ambition to head up pseudo-American fare filled with car chases, gun-play, martial arts, machismo and the odd sexy femme or three. Like hero Frank Martin (Jason Statham), the first Transporter film was lean, muscular, not terribly expressive but good company for an hour-and-a-half. Transporter 2 achieves much the same effect.
This time around, Frank is living in Miami doing a short-term job chauffeuring Jack (Clary), the young son of wealthy couple Audrey (Valletta) and Jackson Billings (Modine). Dad just happens to be a high-ranking official in the US war on drugs; he's not giving his son (or wife) enough attention, so Frank becomes a stand-in father figure.
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Jason Statham reprises his role as the inscrutable driver in this action movie written and produced by Luc Besson
The opening shot of Transporter 2 consists of a shiny Audi sitting in an underground car park, with neon reflecting off of its curves. It's a scene that recalls a time when Luc Besson was at the forefront of a loosely recognised movement (sometimes
dubbed "le cinéma du look") of young French filmmakers, along with Jean-Jacques Beineix, making films such as Subway which combined Hollywood and advertising imagery with their superficial glamour, thrills and escapism.There is nothing "arthouse" about this French filmmaker. Since his Hollywood pomp of The Fifth Element and Leon, Luc Besson has scaled back his ambition to head up pseudo-American fare filled with car chases, gun-play, martial arts, machismo and the odd sexy femme or three. Like hero Frank Martin (Jason Statham), the first Transporter film was lean, muscular, not terribly expressive but good company for an hour-and-a-half. Transporter 2 achieves much the same effect.
This time around, Frank is living in Miami doing a short-term job chauffeuring Jack (Clary), the young son of wealthy couple Audrey (Valletta) and Jackson Billings (Modine). Dad just happens to be a high-ranking official in the US war on drugs; he's not giving his son (or wife) enough attention, so Frank becomes a stand-in father figure.
More....
