Great action flick, smarter than most

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2002)

A great action flick that doesn't go over the top with the fight scenes, like so many do lately, or use a cliche'd ending. It looks like there is a little wire work but it's not obvious (like the six kicks in the air stuff). The chase scenes are good but tiring (why does EVERY action flick have to have a chase in it?), and Statham's character is interesting and fun to watch. They added tracers to all the bullets, which added to the visuals of the shooting scenes.
The amicable relationship he has with the French inspector is a nice touch. It added comic relief without getting silly.
*** SPOILER *** I really appreciated the fact that the movie avoided a cliche' twist ending, like the love interest betrayal or buddy betrayal. I was expecting it, but it didn't happen. Also, the love scene seemed a little contrived at first, but then I realized she seduced him to get him to follow her later. So that made sense. *** SPOILER OFF ***
My only real quibble is one of the fight scenes went on a little too long and after a while it didn't make sense. It reminded me of Hong Kong kung fu movies where they have to slip a fight scene into the movie at every opportunity. Statham had to rush to save the good guys and beat the bad guys, but he decided to beat people up and leave them alive instead of finding a gun and shooting them. Oh well.