Movie Review: Transporter 2 (2005)

Now this is more my speed; not as self-serious as the original Transporter could be at times, but also not nearly as self-aware, ironic and cloying as that other Jason Statham's vehicle, Crank. What Transporter 2 does with this middle ground, and does with the odd sort of intelligence usually reserved for the James Bond series, is to get as ludicrous as possible but always play it straight. That's what a smart stupid action should always try to do. And in the tradition of 007, this time Statham has to topple a maniac set on infecting the world with a deadly virus. Looks like Statham has finally settled down in Miami, where he works as a chauffeur for an important government official. When the child he drives to and from school is kidnapped and ransomed, Statham sets out to recover the kid and foil the nefarious plans of a drug kingpin and his wacky girlfriend. Not only does T2 take up the revenge narrative of the first film, it smartly combines it with something of more global significance. And by that I really mean to say it suffices in motivating all kinds of spectacle. The name of the game in these kinds of movies is inventiveness. We've all seen a billion fights and a billion car chases, but T2 escalates them to absolutely absurd proportions. In particular, I was fond of the garage fight and Statham's creativity with a fire hose, as well as his final fight with the villain aboard a plummeting plane. For me, T2 has all the special effects stupidity of a video game, plus all of the focus and energy of a cartoon come to life. Too bad the next entry in the series couldn't hang with this one.