Movie Review 'The Transporter Refueled' : Amazing chase sequence unlike anything you’ve seen before
The fourth film of ‘The Transporter’ franchise packs on the sex appeal, but lacks the charm.
By : karen pereira
Update: 2015-09-04 12:18 GMT
Cast: Ed Skrein, Ray Stevenson, Loan Chabanol, Gabriella Wright, Wenxia Yu, Tatiana Pajkovic,
Director: Camille Delamarre
Rating: 2.5 stars
First things first, this film is ‘Statham-less’! If that doesn’t bother you, then you better buckle up because you are in for a bumpy ride. Back for the second time (after Transporter 3), director Camille Delamarre has found a young new Transporter (Ed Skrein) to drive this reboot forward.
Armed with a sculpted face, a perfected coarse and gravelly English accent, sharp suits and Audi cars, Skrein does a commendable job as the protagonist. However, good looks only take him that far and those predictable one-liners do very little to woo the ladies. Lucky for him, that’s where his father Frank Martin Sr. (Ray Stevenson) comes in to show Junior how it’s done.
Taking over the wheel in this franchise is Skrein, who plays Frank Martin, a former mercenary now specializing in couriering high-priority packages under three simple conditions: no names, never change the deal and never open the package. This time, he is hired by the enigmatic Anna and her ‘three musketeers’, who need his services to ensure that their revenge on the Russian gangster/pimp is not foiled. Young Frank may be behind the wheel, but he is not the one in control especially after the ladies decide to hold his father, Frank Senior as their insurance policy.
Surprisingly, this film has the ladies calling all the shots, and Frank being just the driver. Delamarre starts off his film by giving us glimpse into the sex trade industry, but does little to handle the issue sensitively. The film hits another bump when you begin to question how a retired spy – Frank Senior – manages to almost always get kidnapped so easily.
Fans of the Transporter trilogy (starring Jason Statham) might have few instances of deja vu during the hour and a half long film. If you get that nagging feeling that a few scenes seem familiar, they probably are. Drawing ‘inspiration’ from the previous films, the director carries this movie forward with a few noteworthy fistfights and a gravity defying scene that has everyone, including the characters going, “What the hell?”
While it does start off slow, ‘Transporter Refueled’ has an entertaining middle act that is impossible not to enjoy. Those looking for their weekly dose of adrenaline can look forward to some amazing fight scenes, that is followed closely by an action packed chase sequence unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Will you miss out on the biggest Hollywood movie this year? Probably not! But for a ‘Transporter’ film after a gap of seven year, it’ll surely be worth a one-time watch.