"Stalled In the Fast Lane"
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What You Need To Know:
THE TRANSPORTER is Frank (Jason Statham), an ex-military, driver-for-hire who lives above the law and operates by only a few personal rules. He transports packages, usually illegal, in his souped-up BMW. His profession often entails eluding authorities and thugs at high speeds. Statham may be menacing as the super-cool driver but, don’t be fooled, THE TRANSPORTER is still a glorified BMW commercial. During one assignment, THE TRANSPORTER sees the duffel bag “package” in his trunk wiggling and realizes that he is transporting a woman against her will. Frank opens the package and meets a beautiful Chinese immigrant, who may be part of an illegal slave trade. Of course, Frank will rescue the woman and inflict great pain on the bad guys.
THE TRANSPORTER has no redeemable characters. The hero is a villain who follows his own laws. He beats up two motorcycle cops without hesitation and isn’t bothered when they die as a result of his actions. The absurdity of the story and the absence of good guys makes THE TRANSPORTER a poor choice for movie viewing. This high-speed story stalls in the fast lane and the viewer is left feeling run over
Content:
(PaPa, RoRo, LL, A, N, MMM, S, VVV, AP) Violent pagan romanticized worldview of a driver-for-hire who rescues a woman being held against her will; includes 8 obscenities and 2 blasphemies as well as men make obscene finger gestures and man shown vomiting; “Hollywood-style” violence includes bank robbery, countless shootings, execution-style murder, policemen killed by explosion, man choked to death, car crashes, many martial arts-style fight scenes (very little blood shown) with sounds of bones breaking, man stabbed in chest, another stabbed in hand, man dangling from speeding truck, men thrown from vehicles, men fight with axes, plane hijacked, woman tied up, woman falls down cliff, rockets fired into home, man slaps woman, and kidnapping; brief kissing scene, story implies one sexual encounter (but nothing shown); brief scene of cleavage shown, only upper male nudity, short scene of women in bikinis, and woman in skimpy clothing; smoking; and, one vague reference to anti-patriotism as ex-military claims his country did not care about him, brief messages that “rules are meant to be broken”, references to illegal slave trade, and lying.
More Detail:
THE TRANSPORTER is Frank (Jason Statham), a driver-for-hire (ex-military, of course) who lives above the law and operates by only a few personal rules. He transports packages, usually illegal, in his souped-up BMW, and his profession often entails eluding authorities and thugs at high speeds. This story is a direct extrapolation of the short “Hire” series of web-movies that were featured on BMW’s innovative website last year. As the super-cool driver, however, Statham is much more menacing and lethal than Clive Owen could ever dream to be. Don’t be fooled, THE TRANSPORTER is still a glorified BMW commercial.
During one assignment, THE TRANSPORTER sees the duffel bag “package” in his trunk wiggling and realizes that he is transporting a woman against her will. Frank opens the package (violating one of his important professional rules) and meets a beautiful Chinese immigrant named Lai (Shu Qi), who may be part of an illegal slave trade. It is never made clear why she is being “transported” but you can bet your tub of greasy popcorn that Frank will rescue the woman and inflict great pain on the bad guys. This threadbare storyline may be fast and furious, but all the car chases, explosions and bone-crunching fights will not satisfy viewers longing for a logical plot. Still, there are exhilarating chase scenes, mind-boggling martial arts fighting and more ammunition fired than in most Schwarzeneggar movies. So, most guys will openly enjoy it while acknowledging that the story is not really important.
Unfortunately, THE TRANSPORTER is without any redeemable characters. The hero is a villain who makes and follows his own laws and just happens to be more considerate than the evil villains portrayed in the movie. He beats up two motorcycle cops without hesitation and isn’t particularly bothered when they die as a result of his actions. Even a French detective breaks the law to allow Frank to close this case before the moviegoer runs out of popcorn. In THE TRANSPORTER, you can tell who the really bad guys are because their drivers license photos show them looking really evil. Many skilled comedy writers would be absolutely envious of the unintended laughter that the story’s dialogue evoked. Okay, so the story is truly laughable, the music score is over-the-top sappy, and the hero is as indestructible as a spy named Bond. Did I mention that there are some really cool chase scenes and martial arts fights?
The absurdity of the story and the absence of good guys who are truly good makes THE TRANSPORTER a poor choice for movie viewing. This high-speed story stalls in the fast lane and the viewer is left feeling run over.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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