Friday, September 4, 2015

Review of THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED: Average Approximation

September 3, 2015




The first "Transporter" film was shown in the year 2002, followed by sequels in 2005 and 2008. The main character was Frank Martin, a mercenary "transporter" with mad driving skills whom people hire to deliver people or packages anywhere.  This series made an action star out of then unknown actor Jason Statham, whose brawny heft and martial arts abilities fit the character like a T.  

Now that a much older Statham is now doing films like "The Expendables", producer Luc Besson decided to resurrect the character of Frank Martin with a new unknown young actor. Will this reboot be a success like the original, or will this fail in comparison like many reboots of other old film series?

Frank Martin was hired by Anna and her gang of high-class prostitutes bent on revenge. They had come up with an elaborate plot to get back at Karasov, the man who made their lives a living hell for the past 15 years. After the first deal, the girls wanted Frank to help them with the next step of their scheme, but he declined. The girls abduct his father Frank Senior in order to coerce Frank Junior to do their bidding. 

New actor Ed Skrein is the new Frank Martin. "Game of Thrones" fans will recall Skrein to be the original actor cast in the role of Daario, consort of the Khaleesi. He is of the same mold Jason Statham was cut from, tall, manly and well-built. However, Skrein, with his chiseled face and glamor posturing, felt too much like a fashion model to be completely convincing. He never really came across as a genuine rough and tough action hero, like Statham did. He has got the suave and skills part down pat, but too bad he did not have the Statham charm to complete the package. 

Whatever charisma Skrein lacked in the lead role was made up for by Ray Stevenson in the role of the dad, Frank Senior. This veteran character actor owned the screen whenever he was on because of his magnetic screen presence in this secondary role. He seems miscast as a retired water salesman, but in a good way. He exuded so much confidence such that the unlikely things his character was able to do were somehow made believable. I actually wanted to see more father-son scenes between Stevenson and Skrein, as they had good chemistry together.

French model-actress Loan Chabanol played Anna. She was sexy and seductive as the role called for. Chabanol and the other three girls fulfill their roles as eye candy here. They were avenging angels one moment and damsels in distress in another. The acting may not have been remarkable, but that is not exactly why they were cast in these roles.

On its own, "The Transformer Refueled" had its moments of great action, like the brawl in the disco storeroom, or that frenetic airplane escape scene. Frank's invincible Audi sedan looks great. The film does have the Luc Besson touch, though the director here was Camille Delamarre, who has been promoted from being editor of "Transporter 3".  

The familiar story is not much to care about, and will probably be forgotten soon after you leave the theater. Nevertheless I am not totally trashing this. I think I would likely watch the sequel should there be one. Without the inevitable Jason Statham shadow it finds itself under, this was actually quite engaging albeit Grade B crime action thriller. 5/10.




19 comments:

  1. Oooh, perhaps it's why he was taken out of the cast of GOT then? That too much of a model characteristic.

    My husband likes these kinds of movies, I might accompany him on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My family, dominated by boys, enjoys these kinds of movies. Perhaps we can watch this one sunday

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aw, but I love Jason Statham! A 5 out of 10! I was hoping it at least got a 7, but without Jason how can that be. Will still watch it for myself to see. Thanks Fred!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds interesting, although I wonder how it would even out with Statham's Transporter. I really loved him in that movie.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the Transporter movies. I don't know how I feel about a different actor though. Jason Statham played the part so well I can't imagine anyone else doing it as good as he did.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is my kind of movie. Very exciting! Although It would have been interesting with the original cast.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I feel sad knowing it's not Statham. He did his role very well. I love Transporter because of him. Now I wonder how the movie looks without him. Still interesting though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I watched this movie and wonderfully inclined to focus with each scenes. Moreover, action movies appeal most to my twisted mind...ha..ha..ha..But sadly enough, Jason Statham is out of the picture but not in the past Transporter films.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Is this a film you watch online or something? I was just thinking if I should do reviews for films that I watched online instead of in the cinemas

    ReplyDelete
  10. We were a fan of the previous Transporter movies because of Jason Statham and when we found out it was not him in the poster, we kind of just ignored it; we totally lost interest. I kind of felt guilty for already judging it but now reading this review, I feel much better knowing it's almost what I expected it to be.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's a bit mixed. It has some good areas though they should have stronger and more familiar actors.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ive not watched any of them before but i would have preferred jason statham instead

    ReplyDelete
  13. Aw.. I haven't watched any of it. From your review, it seemed that you were satisfied with the previous films.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think I caught the first film in the series and I was impressed by it. But I felt the second one was so-so only and I stopped following it. Maybe I should catch this to catch up and decide, haha. Thanks for sharing your review on this ;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I started liking Jason Statham because of Transporter. The new actor definitely felt the challenge to portray the character at a higher intensity than Jason or if not the same.

    ReplyDelete
  16. im not familiar with the lead actor here. though i have watched the 2 transporter

    ReplyDelete
  17. Another action packed movies. I thinks I am going to give The Transporter Refueled a miss because there are too many movies to catch this season. I am looking forward for comedy movie.

    ReplyDelete
  18. i am not a big Statham fan although I think this film has a lot of possibilities. I might have to wait for free streaming, though, instead of shelling out money to see this on the big screen

    ReplyDelete
  19. I really loved the Transporter movies with Statham because he just pulled off the tough guy/suave driver act really well. I'm disappointed Skrein doesn't do the character real justice.

    ReplyDelete