With 2003 flick The Transporter, French director Louis Leterrier offered cockney geezer Jason Statham as the next big action hero. With this second instalment he presses the point, but audiences remain unconvinced. As with the original, its relentless torrent of lavishly staged stunts divided critics into those who thought it was "enjoyable trash" and those who just thought it was trash.
A Short Haul Trip
Billed as the 'Uncut' version of the film, this DVD supposedly packs in more action and violence than the theatrical version, but you'd be hard-pressed to spot the difference. Likewise, blink and you'll risk missing a soundbite (or three) in a startlingly superficial four-minute 'Making Of' featurette. Between flashes of cars being flipped and battered like cod steaks, producer Steve Chasman assures us, "There's a lot more story in Transporter 2." Meanwhile Statham wants to make it clear that he does all of his own stunts (or at least most of them anyway) and co-star Kate Nauta, who plays psycho nymphet Lola, sums up the character, saying, "I think she has a lot going on in her head." Seriously?
The only other bit of behind-the-scenes access is a featurette on scoring the film. Leterrier makes an appearance alongside composer Alexandre Azaria to talk about the way the music links to the characters and the action on screen. Since the film chronicles a race against a time, Letterier says, "The rhythm of Alex's score is like a countdown." He adds that the big, brassy sound "gives an epic and heroic resonance and allows us to bond with the character". In addition to the interviews, cameras venture onto the soundstage where recording takes place.
Left Baggage
If the 'Uncut' film doesn't sate your appetite for kung fu and general killing, 12 deleted scenes should do the trick. Leterrier's OTT choreography is actually quite amusing, in a perverse, post-modern sort of way. Consider Frank's showdown with Lola; it features a wholly unnecessarily bit of John Woo-style two-handed gunplay with the pair stalking each other cheek-to-cheek and a touch Of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as Lola takes to the air on a drapery of beads.
A two-minute blooper reel is less funny than the deleted scenes although there is a vaguely amusing bit where Amber Valletta (Audrey) surreptitiously wipes her mouth after an intimate moment with Statham. Trying to get his tongue around an American accent was bad enough, but apparently he's a sloppy kisser too!
Unlike Statham's kissing technique, this DVD is very dry on special features. (The highlight is a peek behind the scenes of Kiefer Sutherland thriller The Sentinel.) Frankly, it deserves to be transported straight to the bargain bucket.
EXTRA FEATURES
