Great action; where's the story?

Rating: 6/10 (13 October 2002)

Everyone involved with this film has gone above and beyond their minimal duties in crafting an action film, save one; sadly, he is the lynch-pin of the entire production.
First, the good: Jason Statham is in serious competition with Vin Diesel as THE cool action hero of the post-Arnold age. He has incredible screen presence, he can handle the action, and he can actually act. He also has a great regular-guy feel to him that reminds one of Bruce Willis when "Die Hard" hit the screens. Director Corey Yuen does a terrific job of creating a western approach to the Hong Kong action film; the action sequences are uniformly exciting and interesting, even when they're being thoroughly ridiculous, a hallmark of Hong Kong cinema. The supporting cast all do their jobs admirably, namely making the hero look good.
So the problem? Luc Besson. Is it just me, or has this man been coasting on the goodwill created by "La Femme Nikita" and "Leon" for too long now? He seems to have no clue how to construct a story, or convincingly develop characters. There is so much left unexplained, unexplored and undeveloped at the end of this film that the plot is reduced to a meaningless excuse for action sequences. When the action is this good, that may be somewhat forgivable, but I still fail to understand why a few rewrites were not in order. It's one of those scripts in which the hard-bitten hero has a change of heart just in time to save everyone, not because he's learned a valuable lesson, but because it's time to do so. The girl he finds in the trunk of his car is the hinge on which the entire story swings, but it's never fully explained why she was in there.
I give an 8 to the director and cast contributions, and a lowly 4 to Besson for his lazy screenplay, leveling the film out at a 6. See it if you like great action, but don't expect to be told a story of any worth.