Human interest is a strange thing. For instance, I didn’t really like The Transporter all that much (I didn’t hate it… but I didn’t find it memorable either). And yet, for some reason I find myself really looking forward to seeing The Transporter 2. Maybe it’s because ever since I saw Snatch I’ve been a fan of Jason Statham.
The critics seem to be just about evenly split on this one. As of this moment it has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 51%. That usually means “if you like this sort of movie… you’ll like it. If you don’t like this sort of movie… you won’t like it”. Here’s what some of the critics have to say:
“Despite some serious flaws, and issues with the plot, “The Transporter 2″ is a fun, silly, over the top, action film, that contain some truly inventive moments.”
Michelle Alexandria, ECLIPSE MAGAZINE“The sequel is a better film than the original, as if writer-producer Luc Besson had a clearer idea of what he wanted to do (and didn’t want to do).”
Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES“The greatest thing about the movie is Statham, a charismatic silent, deadly type who deserves to take the wheel behind a better franchise.”
Gregory Kirschling, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY“Transporter 2 moves fast but goes nowhere — it might be the first film to use a jet ski to jump the shark.”
Colin Covert, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
So there you have it. Good action, martial arts and even a HALF decent story will have me walking out of the theater satisfied with this one… let’s see if it delivers.
My reaction to the film: “hahahahahahahahaaaahhhhhaaaa” I wasn’t expecting this much of a comedy, but there you have it.
*SPOILERS – uh if you could call it that*
I don’t know my James Bond films very well, but it looks like the writers/stunt co-ordinators decided to make every ridiculous bond stunt look even more silly in this outing (Jet Ski sequence (Tomorrow Never Dies), the cork-screw car manuever (Man with the Golden Gun)..The end bad CGI plane was even reminscent of the bad CGI in Tamahori’s Die Another Day…rip-off? satire? incompetence? Dunno, but it was laugh-out-loud hilarious…
Certainly if you were looking for macho coolness, you came to the wrong movie! The most jarring thing was that Statham seemed to be in an entirely different movie than everyone else. It just added to the comedy. I knew it would be bad, but in this case, it was so-bad-it’s-good. $11 well spent. Transporter two (or it’s new title “Chauffeur on Fire”) certainly qualifies for the MST3K treatment. This is definately “Taxi/5thElemnt” Besson rather than “Nikita/Leon” Besson.
The Firehose sequence was good, as was the Matrix: Reloaded henchmen with hand-held weapons sequence before it…everything else was like bad 1980s action-hour TV with a bigger budget. I love it when a sham comes together…
Here is a prime example why BO is down. This may be a renter
at best – no way does this entice me to the theater.
I mean that Halo story only getting 5posts?.. something is wrong here when that happens.. you need to get your blogers back john!!!!
What has happend to the MovieBlog?..It use to have two or three post with 20+ at one time.. now the most you see is one with 9.. and the rest only come in at 1 or 2…This really started happening with the celebritygossipblog.com not saying you shoudl stop it but I honestly do think its killing theMOvieBlog.. mayeb since your splitting up your effort into two..
and Rufus, its not good unbeleivable.
Unbelievable car tricks? Sign me up! *fond memories of the Blue Brothers*
This movie is not half as good as the original..The CGI at certain points in the movie are just horrible.. and not to give anything away.. but some of the car tricks are just so unbleivable its funny..
I hope everyone is keeping in mind that this is the censored, edited version of this film. The director shot a film that was a HARD R, full of violence and nudity, and it has been trimmed to PG-13 for North American viewers.
Check out the European trailer for a sampling of what we’re not allowed to see (until DVD, anyway).
I also didn’t like the first one that much.. I was a meh`.. but for some reason just like yourself I find myself waiting for the second one..
You think this is subliminal messaging?.. WUUUUU!!!!!