Ahoy, squirts! Quint here... now I missed the screening of this flick yesterday in order to see... SOUND OF urp...THUNDER... Sorry, threw up a little bit in my mouth there. Wish I should have seen TRANSPORTER 2 instead, although considering it was on the exact opposite side of Austin it would have cost me $53 in gas to get there, but since I'm one of those that got a kick out of the original flick I'm sure I would have had a much better time than I did in... SOUND... you get the picture... Enjoy the review!
Yeah I know that this isn't THAT much a scoop considering that it opens up tomorrow(later today), but I haven't seen any reviews for it yet on your site so I thought, "eh whatever." I saw it during an advanced---AH who cares let's get on to business.
(I?ll keep this as spoiler-free as possible)
First things first, is this as good as the original? In two words, "I guess." I mean, I wasn't a super fan of the original, but I didn't hate it either. It was just a fun film where basically it's only purpose was to entertain. In that sense this succeeded. It was entertaining almost the entire running save for a few small breaks of action, but really though by the end of it, it?s just one big rush.
Now, do you have to see Transporter 1 to understand part 2? No, absolutely not. It?s like 007. Do you have to see Diamonds are Forever to understand Die Another Day? Exactly...unless of course there IS something I missed.
At it?s most basic It?s about Frank(Jason Statham) who?s hired by this rich politician do drive their son Jake to and from school. But as it?s seen from the trailers, the kid gets kidnapped and held for ransomand it?s up to Frank to save the day. What makes the movie work though is that it?s really fast paced. Because you see, Frank only has two hours to get him back.
I know it seems like I?m giving a lot but it?s nothing, believe me. Like a James Bond movie it?s more complicated than it has to be, but I was having a wild ride with it so I didn?t care. Even though it really doesn?t make much sense. I probably would have ended up hating this movie if either these two things happened. A) Jason Statham didn?t kick enough ass. B) If the boy was ?unique? in some way. You know what I?m talking about, where almost every movie where the kid gets kidnapped then tries to pull some smart shit against the bad guys and plays them as fools. Rest assured the kid is normal and you hope he makes it through.
There was one thing I was "worried" about walking into this. Is it possible this could be more unrealistic than the original Transporter? I have to say it before it gets out too late-- YES, YES IT IS! I don?t remember part 1 a whole lot, but I do remember a scene where he uses a tray to deflect a rocket. Really, that?s nothing compared to what happens here. There?s this one part with a crane and a car.. and.....yeah it?s insane. I must mention that even though as far as I know there wasn?t any ?pop tunes? in the movie, but there is one scene movie where I was just sitting with my friend and this ?music? started to play. I was saying to him, ?dammit shouldn?t we know this it sounds so damn familiar, what?s it from.? Roughly ten seconds later we realized what was being used and we looked at each other and said, ?OOOOOOH _____________?. I really don?t want to spoil what?s being used, but I think goes well with the scene.
Now, you?re probably thinking is there anything ?bad? about it? Yes, but only a few things. Some of SFX were just plain bad. No other way to describe it, just bad. There?s a helicopter explosion where I said, ?oook there that didn?t look right? , and a 7 minute plane sequence that really looks like it could have been made for TV. Yes, I just have to say it again === the plot is more complicated than it has to be. The acting from some of the supporting characters is pretty much overreacted the entire time, ESPECIALLY the main villain. Finally the way one of the characters dies is a complete letdown, where you just say, ?what? that?s it?? One of the most disappointing moments in the entire movie.
Overall the movie did all the things it wanted to do right, right. The action scenes never really became monotonous, and each one has something unique about them. Almost the entire movie I was shouting at the screen, ?oh c?mon you can?t be serious.? as one crazy thing happened over another. I also think the ending is near perfect in the sense that it doesn?t become one of those, ?and everyone was happy.? endings. It?s very fitting. If you were a fan of the original, then you'll probably like it. If you didn't like the original...then don't see it.
Transporter 1 : 7/10
Transporter 2: 7.5/10
(Oh yeah and Grandma's Boy looks like the 40 Year-Old Virgin but worse)
CAPTAIN HOLLYWOOD
