The Transporter

Last updated

The Transporter
Transporterposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Louis Leterrier [lower-alpha 1]
Screenplay by
Produced by
  • Luc Besson
  • Stephen Chasman
Starring
Cinematography Pierre Morel
Edited byNicolas Trembasiewicz
Music by Stanley Clarke
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 2 October 2002 (2002-10-02)(Los Angeles)
  • 11 October 2002 (2002-10-11)(U.S.)
  • 23 October 2002 (2002-10-23)(France)
Running time
92 minutes [2]
CountryFrance [3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20.5 million [4]
Box office$43.9 million [5]

The Transporter (French: Le Transporteur) is a 2002 English-language French action film directed by Louis Leterrier [lower-alpha 2] from a screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. The film was inspired by the short film series The Hire . It is the first installment in the Transporter franchise and stars Jason Statham, alongside Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze, and Ric Young. In the film, Frank Martin, a British mercenary driver living in France, finds himself involved in a people smuggling plot.

Contents

The Transporter premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on 2 October 2002 and was first theatrically released in the United States on 11 October by 20th Century Fox, and in France on 23 October by EuropaCorp. It received mixed reviews from critics with praise for its action sequences and Statham's performance. It grossed $43.9 million worldwide and was followed by the sequel Transporter 2 (2005).

Plot

Frank Martin is a highly skilled driver for less-than-legal jobs in southern France who follows three strict rules:

  1. Never change the deal.
  2. No names.
  3. Never open the package.

In Nice, Frank is hired as the getaway driver for three bank robbers, but they have brought a fourth man. Explaining that the extra weight will affect his precisely planned escape, Frank refuses to drive until, in desperation, the leader kills and abandons one of his men. After evading police in a high-speed chase, the leader offers Frank more money to drive them to Avignon, but he refuses; the robbers flee in another car, but are foiled by their amateur driving. At Frank's villa on the French Riviera, local Police Inspector Tarconi questions him about his black BMW 735i, seen at the scene of the robbery, but Frank has carefully disposed of all evidence.

Frank is hired to deliver a 50 kilograms (110 lb) package to Darren "Wall Street" Bettencourt. While changing a flat tire, Frank realizes the package contains a person; he violates his third rule in order to give the captive something to drink, and discovers a woman bound and gagged. She attempts to escape, but Frank recaptures her and is forced to subdue two policemen who spot them. Frank delivers her to Wall Street as promised, and is given a briefcase to transport. As Frank stops to buy drinks for the cops in his trunk, a bomb in the briefcase explodes.

A vengeful Frank returns to Wall Street's villa, killing several henchmen and stealing a Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse, only to find "the package" hiding in the back seat. He brings the young woman, Lai, to his home, where she discovers he is a decorated former special operations soldier. Wall Street visits one of his surviving men in hospital, killing him after discovering Frank is alive. Tarconi questions Frank about the bombing of his car, which Frank claims was stolen, and Lai supports his alibi by introducing herself as his girlfriend. Tarconi leaves, and Wall Street's men attack the house with missiles and automatic weapons, but Frank and Lai narrowly escape through an underwater passage to a nearby safe house.

Questioned at the police station, Lai accesses Tarconi's computer to find information on Wall Street. She reveals that he is a human trafficker with 400 Chinese immigrants trapped in shipping containers, and Frank reluctantly agrees to help. They confront Wall Street at his office, where Lai's father, Mr. Kwai, is revealed to be his partner in crime. Tarconi arrives as Wall Street subdues Frank and accuses him of kidnapping Lai, and Frank is arrested.

Tarconi suggests Frank take matters into his own hands, posing as his hostage to allow him to escape police custody. Recovering a weapons stash from his boat at the harbour of Cassis, Frank tracks the criminals to the Marseille docks, where the containers full of people depart on trucks. Chased to a bus depot, Frank fights his way through the thugs in a motor oil-drenched melee before escaping into the water. He steals an old car and gives chase at dawn before it breaks down, then commandeers a small airplane and parachutes down to the highway.

After a lengthy fight on the moving trucks, Frank throws Wall Street onto the road to his death (in the American version, Wall Street is thrown out of the truck to be arrested), only to be held at gunpoint by Kwai. He marches Frank to the edge of a cliff, but Lai shoots her father to save Frank, as Tarconi and the police rescue the people from the containers.

Cast

Releases

Theatrical release

The Transporter premiered in 2,573 theaters. With a production budget of $20.5 million, [4] it grossed $25,296,447 in the United States and a total of $43,928,932 worldwide. [5]

Cut and uncut releases

The film was cut to receive a PG-13 rating in the United States, and this version was also released in the United Kingdom and several other countries. Japan and France received the uncut versions. Certain sequences of violence were either cut or toned down for the PG-13 cut. These include:

The uncut fight on the bus can be seen in the "Extended Fight Sequences" on the North American DVD, but with no sound. The Japanese region-free Blu-ray cut of this film has the original uncut French version of the film. It also has several special features and deleted scenes. However, it does not include the North American special feature of the uncut fight scenes (with no sound). The uncut version of Transporter 2 is also included in this special boxed set.

Soundtrack

Original Soundtrack

  1. Tweet – "Boogie 2Nite"
  2. Nate Dogg – "I Got Love"
  3. Sacario featuring Angie Martinez and Fat Joe – "Live Big (Remix)"†
  4. "Benzino – Rock The Party"†
  5. Knoc-Turn'al – "Muzik"
  6. Angie Martinez featuring Lil' Mo and Sacario – "If I Could Go!"†
  7. Tamia – "Be Alright"†
  8. Missy Elliott – "Scream AKA Itchin'"
  9. Gerald Levert – "Funny"†
  10. Hustlechild – "I'm Cool"†
  11. Keith Sweat – "One on One"†
  12. Nadia [6] [7] – "Life of a Stranger"

† indicates that the song did not appear in the film

Original Motion Picture Score

The original score were composed by Stanley Clarke and The Replicant (for "Love Rescue" and "Transfighter").

  1. Stanley Clarke – Mission
  2. Stanley Clarke – Serenity
  3. Stanley Clarke – Franck Tries to Leave
  4. The Replicant – Transfighter
  5. DJ Pone & Drixxxé – Fighting Man
  6. The Replicant – Love Rescue
  7. DJ Pone & Drixxxé – Rockin' and Scratchin'
  8. Stanley Clarke – Interrogation with Inspector
  9. Stanley Clarke – Gives Package a Drink
  10. DJ Pone & Drixxxé – The Chase
  11. Stanley Clarke – It's All Over
  12. Stanley Clarke – Laï Snoops Around

Home media

The film was released on VHS and DVD on 15 April 2003, and on Blu-ray on 14 November 2006.

Reception

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 54% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Transporter delivers the action at the expense of coherent storytelling." [8] At Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [10]

Manohla Dargis, of the Los Angeles Times , complimented the action, saying, "[Statham] certainly seems equipped to develop into a mid-weight alternative to Vin Diesel. That's particularly true if he keeps working with director Corey Yuen, a Hong Kong action veteran whose talent for hand-to-hand mayhem is truly something to see." [11] Roger Ebert wrote, "Too much action brings the movie to a dead standstill." [12] Eric Harrison, of the Houston Chronicle , said, "It's junk with a capital J. The sooner you realize that, the more quickly you can settle down to enjoying it." [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ The American release credits Corey Yuen as director, who served as fight choreographer, and is credited as such in other territories, while credited Leterrier as "artistic director".
  2. ↑ The American release credits Corey Yuen as director, who served as fight choreographer, and is credited as such in other territories, while credited Leterrier as "artistic director".

Related Research Articles

<i>Snake in the Eagles Shadow</i> 1978 Hong Kong film

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping in his directorial debut. It stars Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang-lee, and Yuen Woo-ping's real life father, Yuen Siu-tien. The film's plot is about Chien Fu, an orphan who is bullied at a kung fu school, meeting an old beggar, Pai Cheng-tien, who becomes his sifu (teacher) and trains him in Snake Kung Fu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Statham</span> English actor (born 1967)

Jason Statham is an English actor and martial artist. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, gritty, or violent. Statham has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s. His film career through 2017 generated over $1.5 billion in ticket sales, making him one of the film industry's most bankable stars.

Corey Yuen Kwai is a Hong Kong film director, film producer, action choreographer, and former actor.

<i>Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie</i> 1994 anime film

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as Street Fighter II Movie in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 anime film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting game written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 6, 1994, was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, and was adapted into English in dubbed and subtitled format by Animaze for Manga Entertainment. It was distributed by Toei Company in Japan, while 20th Century Fox also distributed in other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Leterrier</span> French film director (born 1973)

Louis Leterrier is a French film and television director. Best known for his work in action films, he directed the first two Transporter films (2002–2005), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Clash of the Titans (2010), Now You See Me (2013), and the tenth Fast & Furious installment, Fast X (2023). He also directed the streaming television series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019).

<i>Transporter 2</i> 2005 film

Transporter 2 is a 2005 English-language French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen. It is the sequel to The Transporter (2002) and the second installment in the Transporter franchise. It stars Jason Statham as Frank Martin, with Alessandro Gassmann, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauta, François Berléand, Matthew Modine, and Jason Flemyng. In the film, Frank Martin (Statham) is tasked with protecting the young son of politician Jefferson Billings (Modine) from an international drugs cartel.

<i>Replicant</i> (film) 2001 film by Ringo Lam

Replicant is a 2001 American science fiction action film directed by Ringo Lam and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michael Rooker. It is the second collaboration between Van Damme and Hong Kong film director Ringo Lam, and the third time that Van Damme has starred in a dual role. The film had a limited theatrical release in many European countries and was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on September 18, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ayer</span> American filmmaker

David Ayer is an American filmmaker known for making crime films that are set in Los Angeles and deal with gangs and police corruption. His screenplays include Training Day (2001), The Fast and the Furious (2001), and S.W.A.T. (2003). He has also directed Harsh Times (2005), Street Kings (2008), End of Watch (2012), Sabotage (2014), and The Beekeeper (2024). In 2016, he directed the superhero movie Suicide Squad from the DC Extended Universe, and then the urban fantasy film Bright (2017) for Netflix. He has twice collaborated with actor Shia LaBeouf: first with the World War II drama Fury (2014), then the crime thriller The Tax Collector (2020). He has also collaborated with his friend Cle Shaheed Sloan who has appeared in four of his films.

<i>War</i> (2007 film) 2007 film by Philip Atwell

War is a 2007 American action thriller film directed by Philip G. Atwell in his directorial debut and featuring stage combat choreographed by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li and Jason Statham, and was released in the United States on August 24, 2007. War features the second collaboration between Jet Li and Jason Statham, reuniting them for the first time since 2001 film The One. Jason Statham plays an FBI agent determined to take down a mysterious assassin known as Rogue, after his partner is murdered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François Berléand</span> French actor (born 1952)

François Berléand is a French actor.

<i>Transporter</i> (franchise) French action-thriller film series

Transporter is a French action thriller film franchise, comprising four films released between 2002 and 2015, and a television series. Jason Statham plays Frank Martin in the first three movies, a professional freelance courier driver for hire. Statham, an accomplished martial artist, performed many combat scenes involving Frank Martin by himself. This permits the franchise's signature Hong Kong-style fight scenes, choreographed by Corey Yuen. Chris Vance portrayed Martin in the sequel television series and Ed Skrein portrays him in the fourth film, a reboot.

<i>Transporter 3</i> 2008 French film

Transporter 3 is a 2008 French action film directed by Olivier Megaton. It is the final installment in the original trilogy of the Transporter franchise. Jason Statham and François Berléand reprise their roles as Frank Martin and Inspector Tarconi. Frank Martin returns to France in order to continue his low-key business of delivering packages without question. Transporter 3 grossed $112.9 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the trilogy.

<i>Tiramisu</i> (2002 film) 2002 Hong Kong film

Tiramisu is a 2002 Hong Kong romantic fantasy film directed by Dante Lam. It stars Nicholas Tse and Karena Lam in their first film collaboration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Morel</span> French film director and cinematographer (born 1964)

Pierre Morel is a French film director and cinematographer. His work includes District 13, From Paris with Love, and Taken.

Alexandre Azaria also known by his alias Replicant is a French composer, songwriter and musician. He presently signs only by his own name.

<i>Transporter: The Series</i> French TV series or program

Transporter: The Series is an action-thriller television series, a spinoff of the Transporter film series created by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, with Chris Vance taking over the role of Frank Martin for the series. It was co-produced by the French Atlantique Productions and the Canadian boutique entertainment company QVF, Inc. The series was broadcast by M6, RTL Television, The Movie Network, and Movie Central. Originally, HBO and Cinemax were involved, but they dropped out in 2013.

<i>Cash Truck</i> 2004 film by Nicolas Boukhrief

Cash Truck is a 2004 French action thriller film directed by Nicolas Boukhrief, who co-wrote the script with Eric Besnard. It was remade in English by director Guy Ritchie in 2021 as Wrath of Man.

Toshihiko Kojima is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

<i>The Transporter Refueled</i> 2015 film

The Transporter Refueled is a 2015 action thriller film directed by Camille Delamarre and written by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, and Luc Besson. It serves as a reboot and the fourth film in the Transporter franchise. It stars Ed Skrein as Frank Martin, alongside Ray Stevenson, Loan Chabanol, Gabriella Wright, Tatjana Pajković, Yu Wenxia, Radivoje Bukvić, Lenn Kudrjawizki, Anatole Taubman, and Noémie Lenoir. In the film, Frank finds himself caught up in a bank heist and kidnapping plot orchestrated by Anna (Chabanol).

References

  1. ↑ "The Transporter (2001)". UniFrance . Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "The Transporter (15)". British Board of Film Classification . 4 November 2002. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "The Transporter (2001)". en.unifrance.org.
  4. 1 2 "The Transporter (2002)". JP's Box-Office. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  5. 1 2 "The Transporter". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "Transporter [Original Soundtrack] – Original Soundtrack". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Elektra All-Stars Prepare To 'Transport'". Billboard . Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "The Transporter". Rotten Tomatoes. 13 September 2002. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Transporter". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  10. ↑ "Home". CinemaScore . Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  11. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (11 October 2002). "'The Transporter'". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 15 October 2002. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Ebert, Roger (11 October 2002). "The Transporter". Chicago Sun Times . Archived from the original on 3 August 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  13. ↑ Harrison, Eric (12 November 2004). "The Transporter". Houston Chronicle . Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.