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Entertainment
The Transporter
IF YOU are in a mood for some well-choreographed action sequences without minding the near-tacky dialogues, then this 20th Century Fox venture, "The Transporter", is your kind of movie.
If the idea behind such a film is to provide some fun and action that gets the adrenalin going and a macho hero who could be a good alternative to either Vin Diesel or James Bond, to make up for the weak storyline, then this movie succeeds like no other.
Beginning with some really fast-paced action scenes in the picturesque south of France, with some beautiful BMWs no less, the film is all about Frank (Jason Statham), an ex-military character, who lives in France in a big house with his black BMW where he makes his money by transporting illegal packages that he never asks questions about. He lives by three unbreakable rules — never change the deals, never look into a package, and never ask for names.
But then rules, sometimes, are meant to be broken. So on one mission, intrigued by one (package) he takes a peek! And voila — it's a sexy hostage, Lai. Though he is a tough guy, he has enough heart to make sure that as a captive she does not starve — he actually buys a drink and cuts a hole on the tape across her mouth and feeds her through a straw. Well now, the recipients of the package aren't going to be happy that the contents have made such an impact — so they want to kill him for breaking the rules.
With Lai making an entry in his orderly life, its chaos and mayhem that ensues with several martial arts fights, car chases, rocket launchers (yes , the baddies use them to blow his house to smithereens,) and high-powered machine gun shoot-outs. And all the while he tries to convince the French police inspector (François Berleand) that there is nothing unusual going on.
Jason is now embroiled in a human smuggling organisation, which brings in innocent people from China to be sold as slaves. And this horrible gang is headed by no other than Lai's father! Who, with his weird hairpiece, looks rather ludicrous as the chief villain!
Statham as Jason keeps his cool throughout. He is not particularly asked to prove his acting skills. He wears a severely cut suit, looks after his car like a baby, and takes his shirt off several times (a la Salman Khan) and really kicks the guts out of the bad guys. Sometimes one wonders if he could be the next Bond?
Shu Qui, the Chinese star, is pretty to look at but spends most of her time screaming and over acting. Her part in the film is a bit amusing — when she is not afraid, she spends all her time trying to make Jason notice her romantically. And goes to a great extent to prove her gratitude to him. Director Cory Yuen, a Hong Kong action filmmaker, proves that action is king, never mind if the characters don't have much to provide in terms of histrionics. They have to look good and carry out the tough image that hard-edged heroes in such films have.
In this, the maker asks us to accept this modern type amoral hero, who is not such a bad guy at heart just because he does jobs for crooks and criminals — he is someone who had issues with his previous career, which the film never bothers to detail anyway. It is ridiculous as it is, without having to question such things.
CHITRA MAHESH
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