The Transporter (2002)

Directed by: Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen | 92 minutes | action, thriller, crime | Actors: Jason Statham, Qi Shu, Matt Schulze, François Berléand, Ric Young, Doug Rand, Didier Saint Melin, Tonio Descanvelle, Laurent Desponds, Matthieu Albertini, Vincent Nemeth, Jean-Yves Bilien, Jean-Marie Paris, Adrian Dearnell, Alfred Lot

Delivery man and former soldier Frank Martin (Jason Statham) has a number of golden rules, including: do not ask questions about the package and under no circumstances open the load. When he breaks his own rules, however, he finds himself in a difficult position. He rescues the beautiful Lai (Qi Shu), who is tied up in a bag in his trunk and that means the beginning of a lot of misery and a whole lot of action. Then he is also chased by the French inspector Tarconi (François Berléand), who decides to drop by at the most inconvenient moments. He knows Frank is up to something, but instinctively gives him the benefit of the doubt.

After ‘The Transporter’ Statham is becoming an increasingly seen action hero, think of ‘Crank’ (2006), ‘The Bank Job’ and ‘Death Race’ (both 2008). Not surprising, because this actor is particularly suitable for such a role, in terms of appearance and acting, but also especially in terms of physical condition. In ‘The Transporter’ he did most of the stunts himself, as befits a true action hero. Yes, Statham is very cool.

A fun role is reserved for François Berléand, an inspector with a dry humor who provides the necessary entertainment between the action scenes. The story is set in the French Riviera, and the setting is beautiful. The fast camera work and cinematography are also fantastic. The speed at which the story develops is as it should be for an action movie, and there are enough plot twists to keep it somewhat exciting until the end.

Yet ‘The Transporter’ does not escape the necessary clichés such as fast pursuits and the use of many weapons. Fortunately, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously and it was not the intention of the makers to make it look realistic, so that the sometimes crazy stunts look nice instead of raising questions. ‘The Transporter’ contains everything and is therefore a fine action film, but has nothing more to offer. It gives you a superficial evening full of action and spectacle, and that is sometimes nice.