Transporter, The (2002)

After professional driver Frank Martin (Jason Statham) discovers he’s been hired to transport a beautiful Chinese woman (Shu Qi) in his trunk, he becomes the target of a Chinese immigrant smuggler. With the support of a local police inspector, Martin attempts to stop a shipment of 500 immigrants before they’re forced into servitude.

Loads of action in the form of manic car chases, intense gunplay and slick martial combat punctuate Corey Yuen’s Western film directing debut, but Jason Statham takes top honors as The Transporter’s charismatic hero.

Although conceived by French action film auteur Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element), the film’s premise clearly takes inspiration from a brilliant marketing campaign that automaker BMW unleashed in 2001 introducing a continuing series of original film shorts on the Internet by directors such as Guy Richie and Ang Lee to promote their cars. In The Transporter which also features a BMW, Jason Statham plays Frank Martin, a former military Special Forces member who now lives on the French coast offering his services as a professional driver for criminal clientele. He facetiously operates by three simple rules; the original contract cannot be broken or negotiated, no names, and don’t open the package. But everything falls apart after a duffle bag he’s hired to transport is opened when its discovered a live person is inside. It turns our to be Lai, played by Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (Gorgeous). After making the delivery, Martin barely escapes a detonated explosive his employers planted on his car and he wastes no time in getting some payback. He learns that his former employers are running a Chinese immigrant smuggling operation and ends up incarcerated before he can do anything about it. The arresting police inspector (François Berléand) who appreciates Martin’s usually discrete operations gives him a chance to bust the smugglers. From that point on its all action as Martin clobbers his way through a mob of thugs in a bus terminal and eventually hijacks a crop duster as he struggles to halt two cargo containers carrying 500 immigrants from reaching their destination.

The Transporter introduces the best Western action hero since Bruce Willis leapt off the exploding Nakatomi Towers in Die Hard (1988). The credit goes to Jason Statham and his authentic tough guy persona, something that’s been lacking in recent action films featuring pretty boy wannabes like Matt Damon and Keanu Reeves. With a mild, limey brogue free of gimmicky one-liners and a muscled frame capable of keeping up with the dexterous demands of martial arts choreographer and director Corey Yuen, Statham is the kind of star that ably carries his film, even when it starts to drift into frivolous excess.

The opening car chase is suitably spectacular, although Corey Yuen’s fast and tight editing is responsible for much of the excitement as is the case for much of the close quarter combat seen later. Perhaps a wise decision on the filmmakers’ part led to the removal of the scene offered in the trailer where Statham redirects the path of a missile using a serving tray. This sort of superhuman ability by our hero does surface on other occasions, notably towards the end as he parachutes from a crop duster onto a moving truck and battles his way into the driver’s seat Indiana Jones style. But the film’s highlight is an extensive hand-to-hand brawl that takes place in a bus terminal. Statham’s real life martial arts training is on full display within the confines of a bus and eventually covered in machine oil as he battles through a throng of baddies. In a modern action film the typical criticism of this type of scene is why someone, especially a villain would not pull out a gun. Its our suspension of disbelief that leads us to enjoy watching action heroes succeed against unbelievable odds. It is that same suspension that should lead us to appreciate this extended and masterfully crafted street brawl that, unlike a gun battle in real life would generally be shorter, bloodier and much less appealing to watch.

Not so appealing is Shu Qi’s performance even though her English is fairly good. Part of the blame falls on the filmmakers though who made the mistake of casting her in a lightweight character devoid of any memorable qualities other than her physical assets. As this point I must mention the uneven soundtrack that mixes a hodgepodge of pumping R&B and a few sappy tunes that surface whenever Shu makes googly eyes at Statham. It creates an artificial vibe that’s hard to shake and definitely hurts the actors’ performances. And the day that modern action filmmakers decide to drop the technique of over-hyping a scene by using loud rap or rock music in favor of a more carefully crafted original score will be greatly appreciated.

It is bittersweet to say, but The Transporter offers a better film experience than Corey Yuen’s last three films (as action choreographer) which all starred Jet Li. Perhaps it is Yuen’s tighter control over the whole project or perhaps it is Jason Statham’s memorable performance sans the artifice found in Li’s Western efforts. Either way, this French export is easily one of 2002’s best action features and one great reason to cheer the mergence of Hong Kong and Western filmmaking.