Review of Transporter 2 (2005) by James R — 04 Dec 2009

Welcome to Jason Statham is Awesome, part 2. Having torn up and blown up most of the south of France in the first film, transporter Frank Martin has relocated to Miami, where through a twist of favors, kidnapping and his own heart of gold, he ends up taking on a drug lord to save the life of a young boy. Along the way, he tears up and blows up Miami much like he did the Riviera. And it's awesome.

Okay, so that description is a bit simplistic, but really it covers most of the movie. Jason Statham is fast becoming the next Jackie Chan, only with a car: put him into a situation, any situation, then point him at a bad guy, and sit back to watch asses get kicked and car stunts be pulled off in increasingly clever, risky and innovative ways, rarely involving deep plots but very often involving everyday objects just sitting nearby. This sequel adds the issue of protecting a minor character, as in many video games: not only does Statham have to fight off the baddies, but he also has to prevent them from hurting an innocent, creating several interesting angles within the fights themselves.

The supporting cast of this film is pretty hit-or-miss. On the plus side, you do have Amber Valletta, who proved with her role in Hitch that she could act well, and who plays a genuinely sympathetic wife and mother role here. On the minus side, though, you have Kate Nauta, who (despite having a killer bod shown off in pink lingerie), is just plain WEIRD. Overly made-up, never shown in anything BUT said pink lingerie, sociopathic, gun-happy and having no restraint whatever, her presence onscreen is like a flashlight shown directly into the viewer's eyes. Just looking at her hurts. Killing her off a good while before the end of the movie (sorry for the spoiler) was one of the best decisions this film made.

Despite Nauta's overdone flashiness, though, Transporter 2 is a solid thrill ride that showcases Statham's dynamic action presence perfectly. Is it deep? Hell no. But it's awesome, and it's fun, and that's exactly what it's supposed to be.