A Laudable Effort, But No Cigar...

Rating: Null/10 (31 January 2003)

By John Ulmer
Many action films are surprise hits. No one ever expected "Die Hard" to be as big as it was. No one even believed that "The Terminator" would cram itself into American culture so willingly. If you have noticed, or whether you have not, most excellent "surprise hit" action films are the humble type, or low budget action flicks that suddenly become box office hits, then spawn sequels that sometimes are as good, but most of the time are not.
And then there are the films that try to be "the next big hit," and do not become a hit at all. "The Transporter" is a good example of this. The film obviously wanted to become the next "Die Hard," but it was not. It turned out to be a disappointing action ride filled with all testosterone and no brains. And unlike "xXx," "The Transporter" was not even dumb fun. It was no fun.
Frank is your average military hero-turned-criminal. His job involves a Mercedes, a set of rules, and transporting criminals or packages from place to place. This all changes when Frank disobeys his own rules and becomes involved with the package he is transporting - a Chinese woman named Li, or Liu, or something like that. Anyway, the average plot involves Frank getting romantically involved and taking on the baddies.
When the movie first started I thought "Wow, this is great!" But soon, after the nice car chase, the film goes downhill and never gains enough momentum to climb back up the hill. The ending is definitely adrenaline-pumped, but not really fun, or smart. I didn't expect something real intelligent, but something a bit fun would have been nice.
A laudable effort, but no cigar.
"The Transporter" stars Jason "Snatch" Stratham and a few no-names.
2/5 stars -
John Ulmer