Photo Credits: movie review
Director: Camille Delamarre
Cast: Ed Skrein, Loan Chabanol, Gabriella Wright, Tatiana Pajkovic, Wenxia Yu, Radivoje Bukvic and Ray Stevenson
There's a new guy in the driver's seat in the fourth edition of the transporter series with newcomer Ed Skrein taking over from Jason Statham as Frank Martin, a former special Black Ops officer living in the French Mediterranean while also working as an underworld black market transporter with three iron clad rules: no questions, no names, and never change the plan. And as with every other movie, he breaks each and every one.
Backed by producer Luc Besson (also responsible for the first three) Transporter Refuelled begins with Martin getting roped into a flawed, badly-thought out plan by four prostitutes (Loan Chabanol, Gabriella Wright, Tatiana Pajkovic, and Wenxia Yu), out to seek revenge and an escape from sexual slavery. They kidnap his ex-spy father (Ray Stevenson) as incentive and Martin eventually goes from reluctant participant to hero and rescuer taking over their fight and protecting the women.
That's the basic gist. Other than that, Transporter Refuelled is simply a film filled with random shots of semi-naked women gyrating for the pleasure of their male cohorts, unnecessary fight sequences (like the one in the alley outside the nightclub; Why couldn't he just drive away?), and not-so-subliminal advertising (there is a certain bottle of vodka in every second scene and shots of a gleaming Audi S8 from every possible angle).
At the end of the day however, a Transporter movie without Jason Statham and his suave hulking machismo is simply not the same. Only those who haven't seen the original will be impressed, if at all. The movie is badly written (although the direction is a tad better), the lines are completely cliched, there is no character building whatsoever (and whatever little there is laughable- like the reference to the Three Musketeers and the copy of Dumas’ book lying conspicuously around, or the part where Anna (Loan Chabanol) says, "I come from an impoverished village," or "My mother sold me for $500") and its attempt at showcasing women empowerment was a sad fail. Even the fight and car chase scenes which are the Transporter movies' main USP failed to impress.
But what's even sadder is the fact that there are two more movies apparently in the offing. Such a pity!
