Film Review: ``Taxi''

WHAT MAKES ``Taxi'' utterly watchable is the undercurrent of hilarity that runs throughout the film. Add to it a kind-hearted, speed-crazy hero, a beautiful heroine, romance and action - the result is a palatable cocktail. Heady at times but enjoyable nevertheless.

Produced by Luc Besson and directed by Gerard Pires, ``Taxi,'' originally made in French and now dubbed in English, is the story of Daniel, a pizza delivery man turned taxi driver, for whom speeding is a passion - whether he is behind the steering wheel or on a two-wheeler. A contrast in acumen and skill is police officer Emilien. When the two are forced to come together to nab a gang of German bank robbers, the sequences are bound to be action-packed.

The police force is portrayed as a bunch of feather-brained, naive nincompoops whose every plan of action to catch the criminals goes haywire. They call it Operation Cobra, Operation Zen and Operation Kruger, but it is all tall talk that hardly works. These scenes are indeed humorous. Especially the faux pas when a State Minister is mistaken for a thief. Police officer Emilien's foolhardy plans help accentuate the fun.

In the climax, every plan of Daniel's works with clockwise precision. The thieves' cars landing on a strip of concrete several feet above the ground, with yawning inescapable chasms on either side, is simply stupendous.

Of course, the thieves so easily succumbing to Daniel's gameplan is too cinematic to be realistic. The photography of Jean-Pierre is one of the appreciable features of ``Taxi''. Those who like to watch speed maniacs in action, not necessarily on race tracks, would enjoy a ride in the ``Taxi''.

MALATHI RANGARAJAN

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Section  : Entertainment
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