the transporter

I didn't really know what to expect from the transporter.

I know it's spawned a couple of sequels, so it must at least be popular. What I didn't know is that it's had heavy involvement from Luc Besson. That's no bad thing - Besson is quite an imaginative chap, after all - but it does kinda tell you a lot about the film.

Besson's films often have a very clever, witty streak to them, and the transporter is no exception. Except here we get a slightly odd flip-flop effect where one scene is clearly run-through with humour and the next will be plaid in a totally straight way.

Similarly, we get lots of action, and it's off the usual over-the-top and a deliberately silly variety, but then we also get lots of harder, more realistic/brutal action too. A classic example of this is if you contrast the car chase at the beginning, with its gags and impossible action against the fist-fight in the bus depot towards the end, where you can almost feel the bones breaking.

Also, another big criticism I'd make is that the plot is extremely... I was going to say cliché, but it's more that it's really tacky. I mean, it works as a structure to hang stuff like the action off of, but it just feels really cheesy.

Oh, and the guy who plays the main Chinese bad guy (weirdly it refers to them as Japanese in the hearing impaired subtitles when they're clearly not Japanese in terms of either how they look or the language they're speaking) is weird. His performance is just plain odd, but not in some deliberate way that they've camped it up to make it silly or anything - it just feels like he's suddenly going to lift his little finger to his mouth, Dr Evil style.

I appreciate that's a lot of criticism and some of it's undermining to the film as a whole, but despite that I still kinda enjoyed it. Statham in particular is enjoyable as an action hero in this sort of role and the action, with it's Besson-esque touches is generally quite good.

There are a few too silly things to be fair - all guns seem to fire a tracer rounds for some reason and the bit with the rocket launcher, although dramatic is kinda stupid, for example. But generally speaking it kinda works.

Plus they've not made the mistake of making the film too long - it's short, sharp, punchy and it moves along a suitably brisk pace.

So yeah, silly, but an enjoyable kinda silly.