Transporter 1 (2002) ---- "When Smuggling Young Woman Hire A Transporter."

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Plot Summary

Ex-Special Forces operator Frank Martin (Jason Statham) lives what seems to be a quiet life along the French Mediterranean, hiring himself out as a mercenary transporter who moves goods - human or otherwise - from one place to another. No questions asked. Dangerous complications ensue when he is hired to kidnap the feisty daughter of a lethal Chinese crime lord who's smuggling his fellow countrymen into France. (1) 

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Review

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Hello, Movie Buffs! 

     Directors Corey Yuen (The Legend 1 and 2) and Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional) are known for creating some pretty good action films, with Yuen working on a lot of Jet Li films and Besson being one of Europe’s biggest action producers. Their most ambitious project is the 2002 film The Transporter starring Jason Statham (Furious 7).  Jason Statham plays Frank Martin, a mercenary transporter who lives by a code; Rule One - Never change the deal, Rule Two -No names, and Rule Three - Never look in the package. Frank Martine is calm, careful, and cool most of the time but if you mess with his car then he’ll give you a taste of his dark side. He knew how to be cold and compassionate, he only killed when he needed to and it was ruthless. Lai (played by Qi Shu, Assassin) is pretty exceptional and humorous; however, you sometimes need subtitles to understand what she says because of her weak vocabulary. The villain, Wall Street (Matt Schulze – Fast Five), is a bit ridiculous and is not very villainy. The action looks smart and lethal with some unbelievable stunts and choreography, while Statham displays some impressive fighting skills.

Though despite the film having some pretty good aspects (action, characters, etc.), there were two issues involving the script which became secondary to the action. First off, there are plenty of holes and unanswered questions, which probably could have been answered with a few small scenes. For instance, there is the unknown extent of Frank's military training and experiences, which could have been revealed little by little throughout this film and the following two sequels in the form of flashbacks or by the villain. Lai’s backstory, how she wound up with Frank, and the quarrelsome relationship with her father (played by Ric Young) could have been used as a short action free dialogue scene. This is why it is no surprise that Frank and Lai decide to join forces against the villain; in fact, it’s more of a cliché. Secondly, Statham is a pretty cool actor with his raspy British voice and cool fighting skills, however, he was never given the room to reach his potential here. Sure, he can get whatever or whomever you want from point A to point B on time with no question asked. But everyone knows the phrase, curiosity killed the cat. Luckily, in this case, the cat doesn’t die but nevertheless, curiosity is just too hard to over look.

     Overall, The Transporter (2002) is a fun and entertaining action film filled with bone breaking fight scenes and wild stunts. Is it a bit unrealistic? Sure but it’s a movie so what else would you expect. The action scenes are meant to suspend your belief because this is one of those movies where it doesn’t need realism to make it more interesting. The Transporter" is an action movie with no plot required, and despite a few plot issues, the film is fun from beginning to end.

"Transportation is a precise business."

- Frank Martin

Final Vote

Worth Seeing:  3.4 of 5 star

Worth Buying:  3.4 of 5 stars

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Cast & Crew

Directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen

Writing Credits Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen

Produced by 

     Luc Besson               ---   Producer

     Steven Chasman     ---   producer

     David Lai                  ---   associate producer

     Alfred Lot                 ---   associate producer

     Mehdi Sayah            ---   assistant producer

Music by Stanley Clarke  

Cinematography by Pierre Morel       

Film Editing by Nicolas Trembasiewicz         

Casting By Nathalie Cheron       

Production Design by Hugues Tissandier    

Costume Design by Martine Rapin

Cast

Jason Statham                ---        Frank Martin

Qi Shu                                 ---        Lai

Matt Schulze                    ---        Wall Street

François Berléand        ---        Inspector Tarconi

Ric Young                         ---        Mr. Kwai

Doug Rand                       ---        Leader

Didier Saint Melin        ---        Boss

Tonio Descanvelle         ---        Thug 1

Laurent Desponds         ---        Thug 2

Matthieu Albertini        ---        Thug 3

Vincent Nemeth             ---        Pilot

Jean-Yves Bilien            ---        Little Thug

Jean-Marie Paris           ---        Giant Thug

Adrian Dearnell             ---        Newscaster