TS1 and I got a big kick from the first Transporter flick. Considering how well it did and how strong Jason Stathem was as the lead we thought it would launch Stathem as a big time action lead. He’s certainly been active but not getting anywhere close to the top rank bankable action stars like Vin Diesel, Denzel Washington or The Rock; of course, those three aren’t making many traditional big budget action flicks either.
In Le Transporteur II Stathem’s Frank Martin has traded the Mediterranean coastal France for the Atlantic coast of (Miami) Florida but gets in trouble when he breaks his own rules by taking a job transporting a person rather than a package, the small son of the American drug czar (a cranky Matthew Modine). Unfortunately for cute little Jack (Hunter Clary), his dad is about to host a gathering of Latin American government ministers to approve a plan that will allegedly put a big hurt on the big traffickers.
They hire terrorist-turned-mercenary Gianni (hunky Italian Alessandro Gassman) and some goofball Russian biochemists to develop and deliver a fast acting fatal flu strain to the meddling officials; Gianni decides to use Jack as Patient Zero by substituting his men for Jack’s pediatrician so the injection can be given undetected. Unfortunately for Gianni’s plans, Mom (Amber Valletta) has a last minute emergency so Frank is with the boy and, of course, interferes.
Though he doesn’t prevent the infection. Gianni’s lieutenant and chief muscle is Lola (Kate Nauta, think of a European Gwen Stefani)–this photo is an excellent representation of Lola’s part in this film–and she is a complete sociopath, not at all concerned if she finally meets her match. Mom and Frank have an unrequited thing going on, since Dad’s been out of the picture for nearly a year, but Frank gets the blame for the kid going missing and has to battle the pathetic cops as well as the real baddies to save the day.
French uber-producer Luc Besson and frequent collaborator Robert Mark Kamen deliver a script that ventures pretty far into cartoon territory and director Louis Leterrier (Jet Li’s Unleashed, The Transporter) pulls out all the visual stops, slaphappy action, massive explosions and our favorite French flic Tarconi (François Berléand) for a bit of sly commentary on American cops.
recommended