The Transporter Refuled

There is a rule in Hollywood. Remake anything, as long as you can make a profit. That does also include prequels, and we get a lot of those in these days. I heard yesterday, that there is a Memento remake on the way. Really bad idea, how are they going to make it better than the original film ? I seriously doubt that they can do this in the right way. I don´t mind remakes, or prequels, as long as they come from good material, but i hope that we will never see the day of a Twilight remake. That would make my testicles explode, for sure. We have seen proof that some remakes can be good, anyone remember the remake of Dawn Of The Dead from 2004 ? One of the better remakes in modern time, thanks to director Zack Snyder. Another great example is Insomnia, directed by Christopher Nolan, with Al Pacino doing a really wonderful performance. I personally find this remake to be better than the original norwegian film with Stellan Skarsgård. When you look at every years new film releases, you always find remakes or prequels on the list. I personally try and look for more original films first, because they usually turn out much better than remakes. Original ideas, and an original plot, is always welcome in my world when it comes to new movie releases. Have you heard of the actor Jason Statham ? Of course you have. If not, you might have been sitting at home watching too many episodes of The Days Of Our Lives. Statham have managed to make his career as an action star, showing his many great talents, both as an fighter, but also being able to act. I would not say he is a great actor, but he have proved that he can mix these combinations together, especially in The Expendables films. Starting his career in Guy Ritchie films Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, he changed his career completely in the 2002 film The Transporter. A fast intensive action film, with a lot of fighting, that became a small box office hit. Statham proved that he could use his body, and strength, in a very cool way. A sequel was no surprise, so in 2005, Statham was back to kick even more ass. This time it proved that The Transporter was more popular than ever, making it even bigger success at the box office. Since the films continued doing well, on dvd also, a third film was also made. With no suprises, the third film did even better at the box office than the previous ones. This could have been a clear sign for another sequel, instead Statham choosed not to return. So, with no Statham, the film studio decided to remake the franchise instead. When i heard about this earlier in 2015, i was not very happy about the idea. But my father in law Ove wanted to see it in the cinema, so i decided to go with him, just to give the film a chance. Is this remake even better than the previous films, or is this one of the worst ideas ever, since Nordman´s Greatest Hits Tour on Finlandsfärjan ?

Frank Martin ( Ed Skrein ), is a former special-operations mercenary, who works as an transporter of packages. Frank take a contract, where he is supposed to be the transporter for 3 women, robbing a bank. The leader of this goup is named Anna ( Loan Chabanol ). As the day arrives, all Frank have to do is pick up the girls, help them escape. But problems become very obvious, when Frank´s father Frank Martin Sr ( Ray Stevenson ) is kidnapped. His son Frank can have his father back, if he helps Anna and her collegues to kill human trafficker Arkady Karasov ( Radivoje Bukvic ). What started as a usual transport job, is now turning into a completely different situation.

I have to be honest here right away. A Transporter remake was a really bad idea from the beginning, and after watching this film, i still feel that this was a bad idea. Why remake something that was fun to watch, and not even keep the heavy fighting scenes that we all loved with Jason Statham ? I realise that they want to try and keep the franchise fresh, with a new lead actor and with the style of the previous films. But here is the biggest problem. Lead actor Ed Skrein is not a fighter on the same level as Jason Statham. And as he begins to fight, you really don´t feel the intensive action scenes, like Statham used to deliver. If they really needed to remake Transporter, they should have chosen someone who is tough as Statham, and have bigger balls than Caitlyn Jenner. You do get some of the elements from the earlier Transporter films, nice looking cars, hot women, and exotic locations. But the action scenes are not as well made as they should have been. Now, we do have something positive in this film, and that is actually actor Ray Stevenson. His perfomance is what keeps this film going, so well done sir. Director Camille Delamarre, who have worked as an editor on Taken 2 and Transporter 3, have directed action films before, like one of the last films with actor Paul Walker, known as Brick Mansions. You can tell she enjoy action films, unfortunately she seems to have missed the biggest important detail of the Transporter franchise. Transporter is supposed to have over the top fighting scenes, so extreme you will pee in your pants of joy. As an ordinary action film, i have seen a lot worse than this, and there are a few moments where we at least can smile, with the help of actor Ray Stevenson. His character is actually not that bad, and this film should have been about him instead, perhaps made as an Taken influenced action film. What is left here is a film, that tries to look as Transporter, but can´t climb to that level. If you just want dumb brain action, you might find some entertainment value here. I personally recommend the Transporter films instead with Statham, i can guarantee that you will have a much more fun time with them, than this remake.

Rating: DD