| | | Rules are made to be broken.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, Spanish, Subtitled, Dubbed, Commentary
Buckle up for "The best action movie of the year!" (Contra Costa Times) that delivers "one exciting jolt of adrenaline after another!" (New York Daily News) Frank Martin (Jason Statham, Snatch) is the best at what he does: transporting dangerous or illegal goods with no questions asked. But his last shipment, a beautiful young woman kidnapped by international slave traders, brings deadly complications to his delivery plans. Now Frank must kick into overdrive in a nonstop action-packed fight to save his precious cargo--and his life.
"Topnotch escapist entertainment." Steve Rhodes, Steve Rhodes' Internet Reviews
"Immensely exciting and funny..." John Patterson, L.A. Weekly
"There's plenty to like here, especially for connoisseurs of the action genre." Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Editor's Note
Jason Statham stars in this fast-paced and very loud thriller that was written specifically for him by French filmmaker Luc Besson. Statham (SNATCH) plays Frank Martin, a former Special Forces operative who is now a high-priced courier paid a lot of money to deliver packages he would rather know nothing about. His creed: Never change the deal, use no names, and never look in the package. But when he finds out that his latest delivery is a beautiful young woman (Shu Qi), everything changes, and he is off on a wild chase, in his specially made BMW, that includes plenty of explosions, bare-knuckle fighting, cool weaponry, and tongue-in-cheek humor. Hong Kong director Corey Yuen, who has previously worked with Jet Li, lets the action tell the story as Frank battles the bad guys in the streets of France. The score is by renowned jazz great Stanley Clarke.
| Features | 15 Minutes of Non-Stop, Unrated, Extended Action Scenes | | Actor/Producer Commentary | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; Spanish & French Dolby Surround | | Making-Of Featurette | | Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Theatrical Trailer | | Producer And Actor Commentary | | Widescreen And Fullscreen Versions | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | "Making Of" Featurette |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 4/1/2008 |
| Running Time: 92 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2002 | | Catalog ID: 2007439 | | UPC: 00024543074397 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Los Angeles Times
"...[Stratham] certainly seems equipped to develop into a mid-weight alternative to Vin Diesel....[Yuen's] talent for hand-to-hand mayhem is truly something to see..." 10/11/2002 p.C25Variety
"...The lovely Shu registers with an effervescent personality..." 10/14/2002 p.29 Box Office
"...Yuen certainly knows how to direct action..." 12/01/2002 p.60 Sight and Sound
"...This effort is as professional as ever..." 01/01/2003 p.55-6 L.A. Times 7 of 10
As with many movies of this type, the plot doesn't rate as high as the quality of the bodies in fast, furious motion. What counts in The Transporter isn't the wafer-thin story about smugglers, the kind that television dramas burn through each week; it's the way Martin kicks open a door, fends off a couple of axes and uses a perfectly ordinary sport shirt as a weapon. The paucity of dialogue makes it impossible to know if Statham could handle, say, Shakespeare (he's done stints in the Jet Li vehicle The One and Guy Ritchie's gangster features), but the actor certainly seems equipped to develop into a mid-weight alternative to Vin Diesel. That's particularly true if he keeps working with director Cory Yuen, a Hong Kong action veteran whose talent for hand-to-hand mayhem is truly something to see. - Manohla Dargis
James Berardinelli's ReelViews 7 of 10
The action sequences are virtually non-stop, with only occasional, brief interruptions to facilitate minor exposition. Every example of hand-to-hand combat features lots of martial arts (high kicks, but no obvious "wire fu"), and enough explosives and ammo are expended to supply a small army. The film opens with an amazing thing: a car chase that isn't boring (it's so outrageously over-the-top that it can't help but be fun). Overall, The Transporter will likely satisfy anyone on the lookout for a mindless, cheesy action flick. The Transporter's destination may be ordinary, but, to get there, this film moves. - James Berardinelli
San Francisco Examiner 7 of 10
The director takes the time within his staccato style for little indulgences like reaction shots from his sarcastic protagonist. This is especially and refreshingly the case during his wow-packed but crisp and unhurried fight scenes, like the one in a local bus yard where a drum of motor oil gets spilled, making henchmen lose their footing while Statham (oiled up and too slippery to tackle or grasp) rips the toe-clip pedals off a nearby bicycle so he has traction and the ass-kicking advantage. As entertainingly exaggerated popcorn-chompers go, The Transporter ranks not far behind the campy action of Robert Rodriguez's south-of-the-border shoot-'em-up Desperado and John Carpenter's Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China. - Rob Blackwelder
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