An ex special forces soldier maintains his lifestyle by being a transporter. He’ll deliver anything, no questions asked but when he breaks his own rules and looks in a ‘package’ he gets caught up in a human smuggling ring.

Directed by – Corey Yuen

Written by – Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen

Starring – Jason Statham, Qi Shu, Matt Schulze, Francois Berleand, Ric Young, Doug Rand, Didier Saint Melin

Somehow my man-crush on Jason Statham hasn’t led me to watch The Transporter until now. I probably should have started here before watching the two sequels but better late than never right! Well, maybe not.

This wasn’t the best movie but delivers on the one thing I was looking for, Statham kicking everyone’s ass. The guy really is quite impressive in a fight and he has that cocky way about him that always reminds me of why I like Harrison Ford. They’ll both smirk their way through a fight, although Harrison Ford usually looks a little more happy as he does it.

The bus fight is a fun piece of film.

The plot of smuggling people isn’t deeply explored and even the bad guys aren’t really built up into much more than a shadowy villain that you know is getting punched, kicked and probably killed by the end. I watched a few of the extended fight scenes as well and I got the impression that the only reason there was a plot at all was to satisfy the ratings board and to break up action scenes. They didn’t want to have all the fighting clumped together where people may get bored with it. Quite the opposite for me, I couldn’t wait for the fight scenes and was mostly bored when the yapping started.

I liked the interaction between Jason Statham and Francois Berleand as Inspector Tarconi. The Inspector knows what’s going on but is willing to look the other way, as long as things don’t get out of hand. Of course they do get out of hand or it wouldn’t be much of a movie. Their moments on screen together are fun to watch and they play well off each other. The two of them are one of my favorite parts of this series.

Not the best first date but some people like that stuff.

I’m surprised they’ve made two sequels from this film. This one and one more would have been enough for me and I still prefer the second one of the trilogy. This one seemed a little less polished and a little less ’shiny’. It’s still alright for some good fun but if you’re not a fan of Statham, you’re probably not gonna like this one. It’s pointless action through and through and I only made it through on my love for anything Jason Statham.

Under the marquee – Will

A while back I wrote a post about why microphilanthropy works; small actions can be transformational, and small actions have been made mainstream through social media. Today, from Net Change Week’s website, I discovered a video of Ric Young giving a talk about social innovation. Ric is a member of Ecotrust Canada’s board of directors and President of E.Y.E, a Toronto-based agency specializing in strategies that promote social change. In the talk, Ric mentions the value of social media beyond just being a tactical tool for mobilizing social change: social media allows us to see the patterns of how people move and affect each other.

As a business intelligence freak, I couldn’t agree more. There are hundreds of theories out there on mob mentality, on how social movements start, on network effects and how people relate to each other – essentially on how change takes place. Take The Tipping Point, for example. And for once, we are in a world where all of these effects can be monitored and measured digitally, thanks to social networks. If Second Life has enabled scientists to study the spread of disesases from person to person in a way that wasn’t available before, I’m positive that social media will enable social innovators to discover so much more about what really triggers and sustains lasting social change.  The more data we have, the more we’ll be able to refine our techniques and strategies for solving some of the world’s most complex problems.

Subscribe in a reader

Transporter, The
★★★ / ★★★★

I have to give it to Jason Statham for always impressing me in his movies even though the movie itself is pretty average. I guess it’s because I find him so charismatic to the point where I am able to watch him in any movie and maybe even convince myself that I like it even though I really don’t. Thankfully, I don’t need any convincing here. Sure, the action is over-the-top, there isn’t much story, and somehow pretty much all characters know martial arts but I didn’t care about its flaws at the end of the day because I was really entertained (not to mention it was over in just about an hour and twenty-five minutes). Statham is all over the place (in a good way): one minute he’s being shot from under a truck, the next minute he’s diving off a plane. He is so convincing as Frank Martin, the transporter who likes to adhere to his rules of business but one day decides to break the rules because he sees something in Lai (played by Qi Shu). Statham expertly balances quiet intensity and vulnerability and that’s what separates him from other action stars. Matt Schulze (as Wall Street) and Ric Young (as Mr. Kwai) are pretty good (but average) villains because they can look mean and shoot guns. I wish the two would’ve had two separate goals, which could’ve been a better movie because that would mean that the story wouldn’t be as predictable. “The Transporter” is harmless fun with one outstanding scene (the grease fight). It’s definitely more for the boys because it’s hyperkinetic, there’s a lot of bodies getting shot and bones being broken. However, there’s also eye candy for the girls.