Transporter 2

Transporter 2
Directed by	Louis Leterrier
Written by	Luc Besson Robert Mark Kamen
Produced by	Luc Besson Steve Chasman
Starring	Jason Statham Alessandro Gassman Amber Valletta Matthew Modine Kate Nauta
Music by	Argenteno Azaria
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	August 3, 2005 September 2, 2005 November 25, 2005
Running time	87 min.
Countries	United States France
Language	English
Budget	$32 million

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.

Plot

In the sequel to The Transporter, Frank has relocated from Southern, France, to Miami, Florida, where Frank is driving for the wealthy Billings family. There is very little that can surprise the Transporter, but young Jack Billings has done just that - 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. Jack is then about to be drugged by a gang of ruthless criminals dressed up as doctors during one of Jack's checkups. A gunfight erupts between female villain Lola and Frank, with Frank using only his wits to escape with Jack. Frank drives back to Jack's house, only to discover the sadistic killer catching up with them. Gianni, the protagonist and ringleader of the operation, makes Frank leave with Jack, leaving Audrey Billings very confused back at the Billings' house. Apparently, her husband, Jeff, suspects that Frank was behind Jack's kidnapping. This is worsened by the SWAT Team, who also have similar convictions towards Frank. Frank is forced to leave Jack, however, at the hands of Gianni and his gang. Leaving in his car, he sees the reflection of a bomb on the underside. He races it into the dock and flips it over while the hook of a crane catches it. The bomb explodes, but Frank and his car land safely. 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".

Thus, Frank decided to take matters into his own hands, instead. He 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. 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 then walks down a narrow street and stands in front of a taxi cab, driven by an Jamaican. He reluctantly obliges to Frank's instructions to 'move over'. Frank Martin then drives to the henchman-garrisoned house of arch-villain 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. Lola is killed when Frank sent her flying onto a wine rack with spikes that impale her. 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. They then wrestle for the gun. Gianni wins and takes 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. Frank visits the Billings in a hospital, bringing flowers for, it seems, Audrey. He then leaves them on a nurse's trolley when he sees the happy family dying, knowing he has no place with them. The nurse walks into the room and Audrey sees the flowers on the trolley, then smiles. Doctors were able to replicate the antidote using Gianni, and Frank silently leaves to his car. Frank drops Tarconi off at the airport and gives him a postcard depicting South Beach (in Miami), because he never got to see the beach. Finally, as he is about to leave, Frank receives a call from a man who needs a transporter. Although Frank knows that he is retired, he realizes that he cannot escape his past. He then provides his service and the movie ends with the following conversation between him and the unknown caller.

Unknown caller: "I'm looking for a transporter."

Frank: "... I'm listening."

Cast

• Jason Statham as Frank Martin
• Hunter Clary as Jack Billings
• François Berléand as Tarconi
• Alessandro Gassman as Gianni
• Amber Valletta as Audrey Billings
• Kate Nauta as Lola
• Matthew Modine as Mr. Billings
• Jason Flemyng as Dimitri
• Keith David as Stappleton
• Shannon Briggs as Max
• Gregg Weiner as Tipov

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.

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. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 50% positive reviews, based on 108 reviews.

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

Sequel

Transporter 3
Directed by	Olivier Megaton
Produced by	Luc Besson Steve Chasman
Starring	Jason Statham Francois Berleand Robert Knepper
Music by	Amon Tobin Da Octopusss
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	November 26, 2008
Country	United States
Language	English

Transporter 3 is a 2008 action/adventure film, it is the third installment in the Transporter series. Both Jason Statham and Francois Berleand will reprise their roles, as Frank Martin and Tarconi, respectively. Robert Knepper, of Prison Break, will be added to the cast list. This will be the first film in the series to be directed by Olivier Megaton (Second unit director for the Luc Besson produced Hitman). This film will continue the story of Frank Martin, a professional "transporter" who has relocated to Paris to continue his low-key business of delivering packages without questions. Shooting is expected to last for 16 weeks, in France and Russia.

External links

• Official site
• Transporter 2 at IMDb
• Transporter 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Review of the uncut version at DVD Times