Transporter 2

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Transporter 2
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Produced by Luc Besson
Steve Chasman
Written by Luc Besson
Robert Mark Kamen
Starring Jason Statham
Alessandro Gassman
Amber Valletta
Matthew Modine
Kate Nauta
Music by Argenteno Azaria
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) Flag of France August 3, 2005
Flag of the United States September 2, 2005
Flag of the United Kingdom November 25, 2005
Running time 87 min.
Country United States
France
Language English
Budget $32 million
Preceded by The Transporter
Followed by Transporter 3
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Transporter 2 is a 2005 action film directed by Louis Leterrier and produced by Luc Besson. It is the sequel to 2002's The Transporter.

Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin, a professional "transporter" who delivers packages without questions. Set in Miami, Florida, he chauffeurs a young boy who is soon kidnapped leaving it up to Frank to save him.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Frank Martin has relocated from southern France, to Miami, Florida, where he is driving for the wealthy Billings family. Frank has unexpectedly bonded with Jack, whom he drives to and from elementary school in his new Audi A8 (W12 6.0). Frank is also readying for the arrival of Tarconi, his detective friend from France, who is spending his holiday in Florida. Frank takes Jack to a doctor's checkup, only to be ambushed a gang of ruthless criminals dressed up as doctors who are attempting to poison Jack. A gunfight erupts between female villain Lola and Frank, and Frank escapes with Jack. Frank drives back to Jack's house, only to be forced to drive Lola away from oncoming police units by Gianni, the protagonist and ringleader of the operation. Frank is forced to leave Jack, however, at the hands of Gianni and his gang. Jack is returned to his family after the payment of a ransom, but unknown to them and Frank, Jack has been infected with a deadly virus that will eventually kill anyone that comes into contact with it "within a span of 48 hours".

Frank decided to take matters into his own hands and finds one of the fake doctors that kidnapped Jack and pretends to infect the Russian henchman, Dimitri, with the same virus. Dimitri panics and hurries to his lab to get the antidote and Frank follows him and finds the cure. After disposing of Dimitri, Frank faces the doctor in charge of the lab. The doctor hurls the only two vials containing the antidote out of the window and Frank quickly jumps to catch them. He lands on a car and catches one, only to find it broken. He saves the other vial from being run over by a truck. Frank sneaks back into The Billings' home and explains his innocence to Audrey, the only one who trusts him. Jack is cured, but he had breathed on his mother and his father, who is the director of National Drug Control Policy. Jack's father is part of a worldwide meet which brings together the heads of many anti-drug organizations. Frank learns that through Jack's father, a Colombian drug cartel wishes to infect and kill all the visitors of the conference in order for their cocaine-smuggling operation to run undisturbed.

Frank drives to the henchman-garrisoned house of Gianni, who injected himself with the remaining supply of antidote to hide it from capture. Following a fight in the garage and another one using a firehose, Frank finds Gianni and holds him at gunpoint, but Lola shows up. Gianni then flees while leaving Lola to deal with Frank. A final, yet brief fight ensues between the both of them with Frank emerging as its victor. Frank then follows Gianni, who is making an escape in his helicopter, to an airport using his Lamborghini from the garage. He sneaks aboard Gianni's jet by driving onto the runway and climbing onto the jet's nose gear. The Lamborghini collides with a sign at the end of the runway, damaging the aircraft's landing gear. Frank gets into the interior of the plane through the open wheel well and kills the copilot who comes to investigate the damaged landing gear by breaking his neck. Frank confronts Gianni, who pulls a gun on him and they then wrestle for the gun. Gianni is able to take a shot at Frank, who narrowly dodges the bullet. Instead, the round hits the pilot and the plane eventually crashes into the ocean. Gianni tries to strangle Frank, but Frank manages to break Gianni's spine with his elbow, rendering Gianni alive, but immobile. Frank then pulls his captive and himself out onto the ocean's surface, where police teams wait. The Billings are given an antidote, and Frank goes to visit them in the hospital, only to silently leave to his car. Frank drops Tarconi off at the airport, and as he is about to leave, Frank receives a call from a man who needs a transporter.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Reception

Transporter 2 opened in the U.S. on September 2, 2005. During its opening weekend, the film grossed $16 million in the U.S. In total, it earned $43 million in the U.S. and $85 million worldwide.[1]

[edit] Critical reaction

The film has received mixed reactions; as of March 16, 2008 on Metacritic, Transporter 2 had an average score of 56 out of 100, based on 29 reviews.[2] According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 50% positive reviews, based on 108 reviews.[3]

[edit] Uncut DVD Releases

In 2006, Louis Leterrier re-released an uncut version of Transporter 2 on DVD. The new release is roughly 25 seconds longer than the theatrical cut, and contains improved CGI, particularly during the car chase from the hospital as well as the private jet scene. The uncut release also contains more violent footage and blood during the fight scenes, and contains more nudity in certain scenes with Lola. The uncut release is available from Japan, France, and the UK (both are R2 PAL but Japan is NTSC) and Thailand (R3 NTSC). Image comparisons between the censored and uncensored versions can be seen here.

[edit] Sequel

Main article: Transporter 3

A 2008 sequel, entitled Transporter 3, will be released in the U.S. on November 26, 2008. The film follows Frank Martin as he returns to Paris.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Box Office Mojo: Transporter 2. URL retrieved March 16, 2008.
  2. ^ Transporter 2 (2005): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
  3. ^ Transporter 2 - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.

[edit] External links


Preceded by
The 40 Year Old Virgin		 Box office number-one films of 2005 (USA)
September 4, 2005		 Succeeded by
The Exorcism of Emily Rose