Transporter 2 review

Director Louis Leterrier confessed that going into the film he was "very afraid of doing a Steven Seagal kind of movie - very formulaic," so he "had to find an angle." That angle turned out to be making the Transporter a gay action hero. It's never stated officially of course, but the clues are there. His obsession with his personal appearance, to the point where he removes his suit jacket before fighting and always carries a spare crisp clean white shirt for when the one he's wearing gets soiled during his frequent acrobatic skirmishes, is one clue. But it's when he winces every time a beautiful woman throws herself at him, that his secret is more obvious.

That such an apparently macho figure as Frank Martin (Jason Staham) might be light on his loafers does give Transporter 2 an added twist, but Leterrier, working with a script and characters created by Luc Besson, has done plenty more to elevate his debut above standard Seagal fare. Staham proves a genuinely credible action figure, but the real star of the film are the spectacular fight sequences choreographed by Hong Kong legend, and the director of the first Transporter film, Cory Yuen. Martin's creative use of such unlikely objects as a fire hose and melons to dispatch his attackers shows theatricality and innovation are of more concern than realism. Indeed, many of the stunts are so deliberately absurd and over the top as to be laughable. The fact that they're done with a knowing wink is part of the film's appeal.

Martin is an ex-Special Forces operative and a paragon of integrity and professionalism who makes his living transporting whatever is required of him, no questions asked. In this case it's Jack (Hunter Clary), the young son of Audrey Billings (Amber Valletta) and her husband Jackson (Matthew Moddine), who heads America's narcotics agency. When Jack is kidnapped by a group led by the dapper and evil Gianni (Alessandro Gassman) and his sexy blonde gun-wielding mistress Lola (Kate Nauta), Frank takes it upon himself to rescue Jack.

Frank's ability to emerge unscathed from seemingly impossible situations is matched only by that of his car. Even when making Evel Knievel-like leaps and coming under constant fire, the indestructible Audi remains unblemished. It's further proof that Transporter 2 is both celebrating and satirizing the genre.

With a relatively small budget, Leterrier has turned in a glossy and accomplished work with no little sense of style. Statham imbues the taciturn and aloof Martin with a quiet strength and humanity. The idea that behind the blank stare is a sensitivity and vulnerability only adds to his intrigue. Following the moderate success of 2002's The Transporter, which gained a cultish following with its DVD release, Transporter 2 looks set to reach a bigger audience and, even without the unsubtle hint at the end, it's clear Frank Martin plans to make more deliveries.

Kevin Murphy