will have you in transports of mediocrity

Rating: Null/10 (6 July 2003)

Jason Statham, regular in the cult movies of Guy Ritchie (lock stock... snatch) gets a stab at a lead role in a fairly high profile film. And a fair job he makes of it too. He plays a getaway driver for hire in Europe, and he is a professional who does not ask questions. Until one day he breaks his own rules and takes a look at the package he is supposed to deliver. Fortunately the content is the exquisitely sexy Qi Shu in a mini skirt. The caper evolves in predictable ways with heavy emphasis on the fight scenes - performed by Statham himself. The European setting is fresh, and the actors all do a good job with the mediocre dialogue. It is a formula that works, and this has been reflected in the box office. Be fair to the producers - this is a rather high budget movie for Europe, they need to stick to the formula to ensure a fair return on the investment. It is not some Indie art flick (unfortunately). Be fair to Statham - he is not big enough to heavily influence his characters or the writing, yet does a good job and has earned his right to the lead. Qi Shu, with her over the top style of acting, is rather captivating, and her large experience (and awards) in the Chinese cinema lends an air of steady character to the film. A note on the accents:- Statham is made to adopt what is known in the multimedia world as a 'trans-atlantic' accent, one that is supposed to straddle the English and American accents to be easily understood by Americans, English and European audiences. In this respect it works. Unfortunately it tends to annoy the British, who would rather have one accent or the other. It is more palatable to the US audience who are usually unaware when something has been altered for their benefit. Other nations, it must be said, do not appreciate strong accents or colloquialisms - it is just too hard to understand for non native speakers. So give Statham a break, he was not trying to play an American! In the same vein, Comments from the US that they cannot follow Qi's Chinese accent are unjust. Most people find such accents refreshing and in her case, very endearing. As Statham proves his mettle lets hope he has more say in these kind of things.