The Transporter 2

The Transporter 2 is one of those movies wherein the viewer must suspend all disbelief and knowledge of physics in order to enjoy the movie. Once that is out of the way, the action scenes can be enjoyed to their fullest extent.

Ex Special Forces agent Frank Martin (Jason Statham) has moved to Miami, where he has quietly resumed his lucrative transportation services from the first film. Unfortunately for him, he is drawn into a conspiracy that starts with the kidnapping of Jack Billings, a rich politician’s 8 year-old son whom Frank has been driving to and from school everyday as a favor to a friend. However, what appears at first to be a normal kidnapping turns out to be something far more sinister, which is apparent once Jack is returned to his parents halfway through the movie. Frank starts out to rescue the boy but quickly discovers the real conspiracy behind the kidnapping and resigns himself to stopping it.

Transporter 2 is very similar to its predecessor, in that the dialogue is extremely shaky in parts, the conspiracy is laughable, and the action is visually stimulating if not highly implausible. Jason Statham once again proves his adeptness in the fighting sequences, which strongly reminded me of Jackie Chan movies in which any and every object in sight is used as a weapon to repel the bad guys. The car chase scenes were also extremely well directed in this film, but it seems that Frank decided to ditch his trusty BMW from the first film and instead chose to drive Audi’s heretofore unknown “scratch and dent resistant” series. I was particularly impressed with this new Audi because apparently it has the ability to crash through cement barriers head on without so much as a shattered headlight, while the police cars pile up on top of each other in a spectacular wreckage. Even Bond cars aren’t that impervious to destruction, but then again, perhaps James Bond just hasn’t discovered the miracle that is Audi engineering.

The car isn’t the only element of implausibility in this movie, however, and I strongly suggest that if you have difficulty separating Hollywood’s version of reality from actual real-world reality then you should not see this movie. It will only aggravate you to the point of insanity, as your brain cells struggle valiantly to accept the fact that Frank can now dodge bullets, and the evil chick villain can blow up helicopters with one simple round of gunfire (while prancing around in her underwear no less). At one point Frank races a stunning Lamborghini underneath a plane, and my brain was sufficiently liquefied to the extent that I started to wonder if the car itself was going to take flight—needless to say, Hollywood doesn’t take us that far, but I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised given the events that had so far transpired.

The Transporter 2 is the perfect example of an action movie that requires its audience to ignore their academic sensibilities, much like the James Bond films. I have no problem doing this, although the unbelievability might ruin the action for some. This movie definitely pushes the limits in several scenes, but then again, I didn’t pay $10 to watch a documentary. I paid to watch Frank Martin kick the crap out of bad guys, drive his car recklessly about while making a few choice witticisms, and perform all manner of ridiculous stunts in order to save the citizens of Miami from some over-the-top villain and his complicated and diabolical plan. And I got exactly what I wanted.