The Transporter

There's a movie called The Transporter, which came out some years ago now; It features Jason Statham in the leading role of an ex-military action man. I'm pretty sure I loved it back when I saw it for the first time. A couple of months ago I stumbled across a box with The Transporter I and II. I didn't even know there was a sequel, and since it was pretty cheap I picked it up. Then it ended up collecting dust with some other DVDs until tonight, due to a slight case of boredom.

**Possible spoilers below**

When I started the movie it felt like a new first time. It'd been that long, luckily. The initial premise was wonderful: Statham's character Frank is a perfectionist. He's strict and professional about his job as a freelance transporter. He's kind of like an assassin in his professionalism. He does a small job to prove this to us. His clients try to bend the rules, but he stunts them. Way to go.

Here's the plot hook: On his next job he breaks one of his own rules: He opens the package he's transporting. Intriguing, is that a sign of a drop of standard? Or a character flaw? In any case, it's a good thing. We see character development.

The package he's transporting is a woman. Like every other action movie, there can only be one reaction when a man meets a woman. This is where the movie starts to lose it. My humble opinion, of course. The cold and professional Frank suddenly turns into action man. Cartoon physics and predictable plot elements follow. A quick ending that doesn't really resolve anything concludes the movie. Of course, the ending does resolve something, but that's just a minor plot element that was introduced about 2/3 ways through the movie.


I'm disappointed. It had so much potential.