Transporter 2 is a
2005 French
action film directed by Louis Leterrier and produced by Luc Besson. It is the sequel to
2002's The
Transporter. It is itself followed by
Transporter 3.
Jason Statham returns as
Frank Martin, a professional
"transporter" who delivers packages without questions.
Set in Miami, Florida
, he chauffeurs a young boy
who is soon kidnapped, who Frank tries to save.
Plot
Frank
Martin (Jason Statham) has relocated
from southern France, to Miami, Florida, where he is driving for the wealthy Billings
family, headed by Jefferson Billings (Matthew Modine). Frank has
unexpectedly bonded with the Billings' son, Jack (
Hunter Clary), whom he drives to and from
elementary school in his new
Audi A8
W12. Frank is also preparing for the arrival of Inspector
Tarconi (
François
Berléand), his detective friend from France, who has come to
spend his holiday in Florida with Frank.
Frank takes Jack to a doctor's checkup, only to be ambushed by a
gang of ruthless criminals dressed as doctors who are attempting to
inject Jack with a deadly virus. A lengthy fight erupts between the
armed villainess Lola (
Kate Nauta) and
the unarmed Frank; nevertheless, Frank is able to escape with Jack.
Frank drives back to Jack's house, but Lola arrives and forces her
way into his car when he is held at a standoff by an unseen sniper
capable of penetrating the car's bulletproof glass. Frank then
drives Lola and Jack away from oncoming police units in a long
chase sequence.
They arrive at a warehouse occupied by a gang led by Gianni
(
Alessandro Gassman), the Italian
antagonist and ringleader of the operation. Frank is forced to
leave Jack in the hands of Gianni and his gang. While leaving the
warehouse, he discovers an explosive attached to the car and
succeeds in removing it prior to detonation. Jack is later returned
to his family after the payment of a ransom, but unknown to them
and Frank, Jack has been infected with a deadly virus that will
eventually kill anyone that comes into contact with it "within a
span of 48 hours".
Frank decides to take matters into his own hands and finds one of
the fake doctors that kidnapped Jack and pretends to infect the
Russian henchman, Dimitri (
Jason
Flemyng), with the same virus (was actually water in that
syringe). Dimitri panics and hurries to his lab to get the cure,
but Frank follows him and takes the antidote from him. After
disposing of Dimitri, Frank faces the doctor in charge of the lab.
The doctor hurls the only two vials containing the antidote out of
the window and Frank quickly jumps to catch them. He lands on a car
and catches one, only to find it broken. He saves the other vial
from being run over by a truck. Frank sneaks back into The
Billings' home and explains his innocence to Audrey (
Amber Valletta), the only one who trusts him.
Jack is cured, but he had already breathed on his mother and his
father, who is the director of National Drug Control Policy. Jack's
father is taking part of a major conference which brings together
the heads of many anti-drug organizations from around the world.
Frank learns that, through Jack's infected father, a Colombian drug
cartel wishes to infect and kill all of the conference attendees so
that the cartel's cocaine-smuggling business can operate without
interference.
Frank drives to the henchman-garrisoned house of Gianni, who has
already injected himself with the remaining supply of antidote to
hide it from capture. Following a fight in the garage and another
one in which he uses a firehose to fight off the villains, Frank
finds Gianni and holds him at gunpoint, but Lola shows up. Leaving
Lola to deal with Frank, Gianni flees the scene. A final, yet
brief, fight ensues between the both of them with Frank emerging as
the victor, and Lola killed.
Frank then follows Gianni, who is making an escape in his
helicopter to a waiting jet at the airport. Using a Lamborghini
Murcielago from Gianni's garage, Frank speeds to the airport and
boards Gianni's jet by driving onto the runway and climbing onto
the jet's nose gear, leaving the Lamborghini to collide with a sign
at the end of the runway. The explosion damages the aircraft's
landing gear. Frank gets into the interior of the plane through the
open wheel well. When the copilot comes to investigate the damaged
landing gear, Frank breaks his neck, then he quickly confronts
Gianni, who pulls a gun on him. Frank thwarts his attempt to fire
the weapon, and they begin wrestling for the gun. Gianni is able to
take a shot at Frank, who narrowly dodges the bullet. The round
hits the pilot and the plane eventually crashes into the
ocean.
Gianni tries to strangle Frank, but Frank manages to break Gianni's
spine with his elbow, rendering Gianni alive but immobile. Frank
then pushes his captive and himself out of the sinking plane. On
the ocean's surface, police teams arrive. The Billings have been
given the antidote, and Frank goes to visit them in the hospital.
Before entering their room, he sees them with Jack, who is joking
with them, and he silently walks back to his car where Tarconi is
waiting. He drops his friend at the airport. Alone, Frank is about
to drive away when he receives a call from a man who needs a
transporter.
Cast
Reception
Transporter 2 opened in the U.S. on
September 2,
2005. During
its opening weekend, the film grossed $16 million in the U.S. In
total, it earned $43 million in the U.S. and $85 million
worldwide.
Critical reaction
The film has received mixed reactions; as of
March 16,
2008 on
Metacritic,
Transporter 2 had an average
score of 56 out of 100, based on 29 reviews. According to
Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 50%
positive reviews, based on 108 reviews. The film has also received
a rating of 42% from Top Critics.However Roger Ebert of The Chicago
Sun-times awarded the film 3 stars out of 4 and called it better
than the original.
Uncensored DVD and Blu-ray Releases
In 2006, Louis Leterrier re-released an uncensored version of
Transporter 2 on DVD. The uncensored release is roughly 25
seconds longer than the theatrical cut, and contains improved CGI,
particularly during the car chase from the hospital as well as the
private jet scene. This release also contains more violent footage
and blood during the fight scenes, and contains more nudity in
certain scenes with Lola. It is available in Japan, France and the
UK (both are R2 PAL, but Japan is NTSC), as well as Thailand (R3
NTSC). It is also available on Blu-ray Disc in France and Japan
(both releases are region-free). Image comparisons between the
censored and uncensored versions can be seen
here (site is in German).
Sequel
A
2008 sequel, entitled
Transporter
3, was released in the U.S. on
November
26,
2008. The film follows Frank Martin as
he returns to France.
It's the first film in the
Transporter trilogy to be
distributed by Lions Gate in the United States
and Canada
while
20th Century Fox handled the
United
Kingdom
distribution.
References
External links
Wikis
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