The Transporter Refueled - directed by Camille Delamarre
Starring: Ed Skrein, Ray Stevenson, Loan Chabanol, Gabriella Wright, Tatiana Pajkovic, Wenxia Yu, Radivoje Bukvic, Noemie Lenoir
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rated: R16 - violence but really an M would suffice.
With so many reboots and re-imaginings happening I always feel that I should just forget about the predecessors and let them stand on their own merits.
What good are comparisons really?
Tricky to just forget about what has happened before and far, far more difficult when a fan of the movie or movies first time around.
This is the case for me here.
I really like the Jason Statham Transporter movies.
Initially I thought that the first one was fine - nothing more.
I preferred the sequel and liked the third movie a lot.
But as I watched them all again on Blu-ray they become something of movie comfort food.
They are perfect flicks to chuck on and just enjoy.
There is no challenge - you can just kick back and take the ride - no pun intended.
And there is no denying that the enjoyment is down in no small part to the charisma of Jason Statham.
Which is the real challenge faced here with the reboot.
No Statham.
It is the elephant in the room.
How do you replace the part of your franchise that worked best?
Without Statham the producers have turned to an actor known only for a role in Game of Thrones and the recent "The Sweeney" feature film.
Personally I don't know Ed Skrein at all but I am prepared to give him a shot playing Frank.
This movie doesn't acknowledge the previous films at all.
Yes, it is still set on the French Riviera and Frank drives immaculate Audis but there is no Inspector Tarconi.
His replacement (at least for the time being) is Frank's Father - also named Frank.
The dynamic between the two characters is however pretty much the same as that between Statham's Frank and Francois Berleand's French cop without actually being as interesting.
Also returning is Frank's very strict (but always broken) rules.
You know the ones - don't change the deal, no names, don't open the package.....
In this case they are applied and broken to a customer named Anna (Loan Chabanol) who requires two packages collected.
These packages turn out to be two prostitutes with whom Anna used to work under the presumably terrible control of Karasov (Radivoje Bukvic)
We seen this man in the opening flashback fifteen years prior killing his pimp competition and depositing his own girls on the street.
Bukvic looks to be specialising in Eastern European scumbag roles of late having appeared as the main villain in the terrible "A Good Day To Die Hard" and also in a smaller role in the truly wonderful "Taken" (that's the first one - not the execrable sequels)
So that is the plot in a nutshell - former prostitutes seek revenge on their pimp.
I'm not going to slam this movie for a weak plot because none of the previous movies have had strong scripts either and they worked.
Although - and this includes the previous movies too - I wonder if Frank factors in the replacement cost a flash new Audi's when he quotes clients? Seems a huge chunk of his earnings would be going to replacing damaged and of interest to Police Audis.
What becomes clear very early with "The Transporter Refueled" is that Ed Skrein is no Statham.
He is supposed to be a younger version of the character but he looks like Nicholas Hoult.
His attempts at the oh so serious Frank scowl are very inconsistent.
He looks like he just can't commit to it for too long.
His fighting skills are fine but director Camille Delamarre shoots with such a dull style that they don't pop at all.
The hand to hand fighting in Transporter movies has always been silly and overblown and that is part of the charm.
I love chuckling along as Statham uses neck ties and tools and oil and fire extinguishers and whatever else is handy to beat up, tie up and generally mess up the bad guys.
In this film the fights are never fun - specially when they are directly ripping off scenes from previously films with none of the style.
Hell the very first scene featuring Frank is a rip of the Statham underground carpark fight and it is dull as dishwater.
And therein lies the biggest issue.
This film doesn't have its own identity and comes off as extremely bland.
It seems content to transplant new actors and characters into the old template then proceed to make a film devoid of any of the charm.
I don't often advocate the option but really they should have just completely reinvented things here - make a movie about a loner with a strict morale code who transports stuff for money and just take it somewhere new.
Poor Ed Skrein.
I am sure he is a perfectly good actor but this movie will be a lot of peoples introduction to him and it isn't a good one.
He and Ray Stevenson as Frank Senior work reasonably well together but he is miscast.
I hope that he finds redemption as Ajax in the upcoming "Deadpool".
The women that play the four prostitutes look amazing but their characters actions make no sense and it is hard to invest too much in their plights.
All that we are left with then is a movie that has beautiful scenery, beautiful women and beautiful cars but nothing much to do with them.
If the action was exciting the weak plot and mediocre performances wouldn't stick out quite so much but it isn't and they do.
"Hitman: Agent 47" got bagged by critics and ignored by audiences but personally I liked it and it is far, far better than this flat affair.
The action was fun and the performances good.
This movie on the other hand just doesn't work in any way at all.
Genuinely disappointing - let's hope that the new tv show is better.
RATING: 60/ 100
CONCLUSION: Flat, weak and miscast. This movie fails to find its own identity and resorts to riffing on the previous films. Not a terrible movie just a very, very average one.
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rated: R16 - violence but really an M would suffice.
With so many reboots and re-imaginings happening I always feel that I should just forget about the predecessors and let them stand on their own merits.
What good are comparisons really?
Tricky to just forget about what has happened before and far, far more difficult when a fan of the movie or movies first time around.
This is the case for me here.
I really like the Jason Statham Transporter movies.
Initially I thought that the first one was fine - nothing more.
I preferred the sequel and liked the third movie a lot.
But as I watched them all again on Blu-ray they become something of movie comfort food.
They are perfect flicks to chuck on and just enjoy.
There is no challenge - you can just kick back and take the ride - no pun intended.
And there is no denying that the enjoyment is down in no small part to the charisma of Jason Statham.
Which is the real challenge faced here with the reboot.
No Statham.
 |
| Frank is back and so is the Audi but something is missing |
How do you replace the part of your franchise that worked best?
Without Statham the producers have turned to an actor known only for a role in Game of Thrones and the recent "The Sweeney" feature film.
Personally I don't know Ed Skrein at all but I am prepared to give him a shot playing Frank.
This movie doesn't acknowledge the previous films at all.
Yes, it is still set on the French Riviera and Frank drives immaculate Audis but there is no Inspector Tarconi.
His replacement (at least for the time being) is Frank's Father - also named Frank.
The dynamic between the two characters is however pretty much the same as that between Statham's Frank and Francois Berleand's French cop without actually being as interesting.
Also returning is Frank's very strict (but always broken) rules.
You know the ones - don't change the deal, no names, don't open the package.....
In this case they are applied and broken to a customer named Anna (Loan Chabanol) who requires two packages collected.
These packages turn out to be two prostitutes with whom Anna used to work under the presumably terrible control of Karasov (Radivoje Bukvic)
We seen this man in the opening flashback fifteen years prior killing his pimp competition and depositing his own girls on the street.
Bukvic looks to be specialising in Eastern European scumbag roles of late having appeared as the main villain in the terrible "A Good Day To Die Hard" and also in a smaller role in the truly wonderful "Taken" (that's the first one - not the execrable sequels)
 |
| Former model Noemie Lenoir and Radivoje Bukvic |
I'm not going to slam this movie for a weak plot because none of the previous movies have had strong scripts either and they worked.
Although - and this includes the previous movies too - I wonder if Frank factors in the replacement cost a flash new Audi's when he quotes clients? Seems a huge chunk of his earnings would be going to replacing damaged and of interest to Police Audis.
What becomes clear very early with "The Transporter Refueled" is that Ed Skrein is no Statham.
He is supposed to be a younger version of the character but he looks like Nicholas Hoult.
His attempts at the oh so serious Frank scowl are very inconsistent.
He looks like he just can't commit to it for too long.
His fighting skills are fine but director Camille Delamarre shoots with such a dull style that they don't pop at all.
The hand to hand fighting in Transporter movies has always been silly and overblown and that is part of the charm.
I love chuckling along as Statham uses neck ties and tools and oil and fire extinguishers and whatever else is handy to beat up, tie up and generally mess up the bad guys.
In this film the fights are never fun - specially when they are directly ripping off scenes from previously films with none of the style.
Hell the very first scene featuring Frank is a rip of the Statham underground carpark fight and it is dull as dishwater.
And therein lies the biggest issue.
This film doesn't have its own identity and comes off as extremely bland.
It seems content to transplant new actors and characters into the old template then proceed to make a film devoid of any of the charm.
I don't often advocate the option but really they should have just completely reinvented things here - make a movie about a loner with a strict morale code who transports stuff for money and just take it somewhere new.
 |
| Loan Chabanol as Anna (left) and with her fellow vengeful hookers (left) |
I am sure he is a perfectly good actor but this movie will be a lot of peoples introduction to him and it isn't a good one.
He and Ray Stevenson as Frank Senior work reasonably well together but he is miscast.
I hope that he finds redemption as Ajax in the upcoming "Deadpool".
The women that play the four prostitutes look amazing but their characters actions make no sense and it is hard to invest too much in their plights.
All that we are left with then is a movie that has beautiful scenery, beautiful women and beautiful cars but nothing much to do with them.
If the action was exciting the weak plot and mediocre performances wouldn't stick out quite so much but it isn't and they do.
"Hitman: Agent 47" got bagged by critics and ignored by audiences but personally I liked it and it is far, far better than this flat affair.
The action was fun and the performances good.
This movie on the other hand just doesn't work in any way at all.
Genuinely disappointing - let's hope that the new tv show is better.
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