Movie · 2002 · Action, Crime, Thriller · 1h 32m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 2.1/10 (478.5K ratings)
Rules are made to be broken.
Overview
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin will deliver anything to anyone for the right price, and his no-questions-asked policy puts him in high demand. But when he realizes his latest cargo is alive, it sets in motion a dangerous chain of events. The bound and gagged Lai is being smuggled to France by a shady American businessman, and Frank works to save her as his own illegal activities are uncovered by a French detective.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.1/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.12/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
Metacritic: 51
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Corey Yuen, Louis Leterrier
Production
TF1 Films Production, EuropaCorp, Current Entertainment, Canal+
Cast
Jason Statham, Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze, Ric Young, Doug Rand, Didier Saint Melin, Tonio Descanvelle, Laurent Desponds, Matthieu Albertini, Vincent Nemeth, Jean-Yves Bilien, Jean-Marie Paris, Adrian Dearnell, Alfred Lot, Audrey Hamm, Sebastien Migneau, Laurent Jumeaucourt, Christian Gazio, Frédéric Vallet
Where to watch
fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A sleek, early-2000s action vehicle with slick car chases, efficient fight choreography, and Jason Statham’s star-making cool. It’s best enjoyed as stylish, slightly trashy genre fun rather than a tightly written thriller; the plot is thin, but the momentum and attitude carry it.
Best for
fans of lean, mid-budget action movies
viewers who like Jason Statham’s stoic screen persona
people who enjoy Hong Kong-influenced fight choreography
audiences in the mood for glossy, dumb-fun crime action
Skip if
you want a smart or twisty crime thriller
you’re bothered by dated early-2000s style and gender politics
you prefer action films with deeper character writing
you dislike thin plots built mainly around set pieces
Overview
The Transporter is a pure star-vehicle: cool cars, cleanly staged fights, and a lead performance built on posture, precision, and barely suppressed menace. It’s the kind of movie that knows exactly what it is and mostly gets away with it because the action is brisk and the tone never pretends to be more sophisticated than it is.
Worth noting
What gives it staying power is the physicality. The fight scenes have a nimble, Hong Kong-inflected snap, and the movie keeps finding excuses to let its hero solve problems with choreography rather than dialogue. The result is less a great thriller than a highly watchable action showcase with a memorable central image of immaculate competence.
Bottom line
The downside is that the story is generic and the emotional material is thin, with some of the era’s usual macho and exploitative baggage intact. If you’re here for narrative depth, it’s a shrug; if you’re here for stylish momentum and a new action icon arriving fully formed, it still delivers.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Joe Lynch (3.5★) · 759 likes
I'm so gaytham for Statham.
reibureibu (4★) · 505 likes
Statham single-handedly keeping the spirit of HK martial arts movies alive in '00s Hollywood as there is more love and creativity and (most importantly) fun put into this than any other American action flick of this time. Bring back: 1. car chases punctuated with slap bass while generic bad guys in ski masks make funny faces, 2. gun-fu slapstick shenanigans where spinning jump-kicks beat men with AK-47s while sex-tape music plays, and 3. ridiculously-hot leads who can't stand each other… more Statham single-handedly keeping the spirit of HK martial arts movies alive in '00s Hollywood as there is more love and creativity and (most importantly) fun put into this than any other American action flick of this time. Bring back: 1. car chases punctuated with slap bass while generic bad guys in ski masks make funny faces, 2. gun-fu slapstick shenanigans where spinning jump-kicks beat men with AK-47s while sex-tape music plays, and 3. ridiculously-hot leads who can't stand each other… more
Jade talks too much🎅🏻🎄 (5★) · 320 likes
Am I insane for thinking this is the most romantic movie of all time?😍 That's a rhetorical question (unless you agree with me that it is😈)!
It’s just so ridiculous and perfect!👌🏻
Lai gets kidnapped by Jason Statham and quickly they fall in love💘 after some tie up time🪢. She's literally living my dream😳.
Statham also loses his shirt👀, gets slathered in oil🛢️, then slides around the room beating up a bunch of naughty men🤜🏻. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day movie for me!🥵🍷
So sorry for this “review”, people.I need to retire from Letterboxd🫣.
Jade talks too much🎅🏻🎄 (5★) · 242 likes
“You don’t need your mouth to pee”- Frank Martin
This is such a trashy 2000s action flick but I have so much fun watching it.😂 Completely ridiculous but still a fave of mine.
The scene where he cuts a li’l hole through the tape on her mouth so he can feed her juice is too damn funny🧃. He’s such a romantic.😍
Stath’s character in this might be a bit of a sociopath but Shu Qi is still so lucky. Why… more
Michael James (3★) · 215 likes
Jason Stathom plays a tailor made role for him, as the cool n stylish gateway driver with sleek action skills and strict principles. It has a pretty much generic storyline and an uneven narrative, still is very much serviceable full blown action junkie movie. Good dumb fun.
2010 · Action, Thriller, Crime · 1h 59m · R · Curator 8.1/10 (58.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, MUBI, Rakuten Viki, Hi-YAH, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A tougher, more emotional rescue thriller with a similarly relentless forward drive.