The Transporter Refueled
Dir: Camille Delamarre
Starring: Ed Skrein, Ray Stevenson, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Loan
Chabanol, Gabriella Wright, Tatiana Pajkovic, and Wenxia Xu
There may be a new driver but the fourth film in the
rebooted “Transporter” series still focuses on high-speed car chases and
fist-fighting extravagance. Gone is Jason Statham, the star of the first three
films in the franchise, replaced by the deadpan, whispery voiced Ed Skrein who
viewers may recognize from a small part in the “Game of Thrones” television
show. Director Camille Delamarre, who last year helmed the parkour action film
“Brick Mansions”, doesn’t bring anything new to the fledgling franchise but
instead caters to the most fundamental elements of action movie making, car
chase, gunfight, fistfight, explosion, repeat; a method that worked much better
with Jason Statham in the drivers seat.
A gorgeous Audi sits in a dark parking structure,
spotlighted as if it was a showroom. A group of men gaze at the shining beauty,
readying to take it as their own. Out of the shadows a lone man in perfectly
tailored suit disrupts the theft. It ends with one man standing alone with his
car. Frank Martin (Ed Skrein) is a very particular, professional driver that
operates a business by a specific set of rules. Frank is hired by a beautiful
woman (Loan Chabanol) to assist in the robbery of a Russian crime lord who has
been running a prostitution ring in France.
Regardless of what the trailer for “The Transporter
Refueled” may imply, there is a narrative at work underneath the car chases and
fistfights. A desperate woman out for revenge with the help of a quiet tough
guy, sound familiar? Here it’s the women imprisoned into a life of prostitution
by a Russian bad-guy archetype, heavy accent and all, who are seeking revenge
through an overly elaborate and often absurd scheme. The plot just floats
around from scene to scene, making an appearance between action set pieces to
make the viewer remember why the characters are dodging bullets, wearing
disguises, and chasing after speeding jets. Jason Statham’s charisma and screen
presence, along with the composition of the fight scenes, had a factor in
masking these narrative flaws in the first three films; here they are harshly
apparent.
While Ed Skrein plays the role completely straightforward
even displaying a decent physical performance during fight scenes, the
narrative undercuts all the characters by giving them terrible dialog and
illogical decision-making. Making the most of a character that is utilized as a
plot device, Ray Stevenson plays Frank’s father with a lighthearted and sometimes
comedic approach.
“The Transporter Refueled” wants to be an aggressively
charged, adrenaline pumping action film but instead offers rehashed action scenes that were done better in other films, that's a problem for a film that looks to provide 90 minutes of mindless entertainment. Without Jason Statham a key piece of
what made these films appealing is missing and all that remains is the transport without
the Transporter. This ultimately keeps the film stuck in neutral, revving its
engine with nowhere to go.
Monte’s Rating
1.50 out of 5.00
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