Intermission: Action-packed 'Transporter' provides viewers 'dumb fun'

|tab|

Jim Wunderle is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

What do you get when you cross the sensibility of a Hong Kong martial arts action film with the style of French auteur Luc Besson? |ret||ret||tab|

Roughly something along the lines of veteran director Cory Yuen's "The Transporter," which was written by Besson. Besson is best known in the states for his stylish action thrillers "La Femme Nikita," "The Professional" and "The Fifth Element."|ret||ret||tab|

Long on car, boat, plane and semi-truck chases, and inventive hand-to-hand combat scenes, the film does have a plot of sorts but one can envision it typed on a single sheet of paper double spaced. |ret||ret||tab|

But plots are not really important in films of this genre. What is important are the action scenes, and while "The Transporter" dives in full force from its first frame, there are a few lulls that keep it from achieving its ultimate goal. Fans of Hong Kong cinema are likely to find it slow in spots, but presumably Besson's idea was to class the formula up a bit for the snooty European movie make that cinema market.|ret||ret||tab|

Frank Martin, aka the Transporter, has three rules: Once the deal is made, there will be no changes; no names; and never open the package.|ret||ret||tab|

He's a man that will transport anything, anywhere, for a price. He also insists, as we see in the first five minutes of the film, that the rules be followed religiously. Too bad for one of the robbers he's working for when four of them show up instead of the agreed upon number of three. |ret||ret||tab|

Rather than make a hasty getaway, he calmly explains to his clients that the extra weight will throw all of his precise calculations off and the chances of success are greatly minimized. Something simply must be done. All of this is taking place in front of the very business that has just been robbed with police sirens wailing ever closer. |ret||ret||tab|

The situation is remedied and the first of many chase scenes begins. The cinematography is eye-popping, and the action is paced at breakneck speed. No matter how many car chase scenes we've seen, a well-executed one is still a thrill ride.|ret||ret||tab|

With this job successfully completed for Martin anyway, what happens to the robbers is announced tongue-in-cheek on the TV news the driver begins his next assignment.|ret||ret||tab|

He's to transport a rather large duffel bag in a job that looks to be an easy one, a proverbial "milk run."|ret||ret||tab|

It probably would have been except for the fact that Martin breaks one of his own rules. While getting his spare tire out of the trunk, he notices the duffel bag is moving. Disregarding Rule No. 3, he looks in the package. There he finds a beautiful Chinese girl, played by Qi Shu, the radiantly beautiful star of more than 40 Hong Kong action films, all made since 1996. Not bad for an actress of the tender age of 26.|ret||ret||tab|

The character's name is Lai, pronounced "lie," an apt moniker, we realize, as the film progresses. Someone wants this girl for reasons that aren't ever made clear. What is made clear is the extent to which these folks are willing to go. They fire thousands of rounds of machine gun bullets into Martin's house and then finish the place off with three or four missiles fired from a shoulder mounted rocket launcher. There goes the neighborhood.|ret||ret||tab|

Through some underhanded dealings at the local police station, Lai and Martin are able to track down the apparent leader of this group and they decide to pay him a visit.|ret||ret||tab|

Along the way, Lai tells Martin these folks are smuggling human beings into Europe, presumably to be sold into slavery. Her father, she says, is among the human cargo. |ret||ret||tab|

When Lai and Martin finally meet the bad guys face to face, Martin is rather surprised to find that far from being held in captivity, the girl's father appears to be one of the masterminds behind the whole scheme. None of this is ever made all that clear, but the guy playing Dad has one of the worst hairpieces I've ever seen. And if it isn't a hairpiece, so much the worse.|ret||ret||tab|

Probably the best, funniest and most unusual fight scene takes place in a mechanic's garage. Martin pours grease all over the floor and wriggles about like a kid on a "Slip n' Slide." He also makes good use of the pedals off a handy bicycle, enabling him to keep standing while the myriad bad guys are slipping about like characters in a "Three Stooges" episode.|ret||ret||tab|

Much like a James Bond film, "The Transporter" unfolds and ends with few, if any, surprises. Choreography, not plot or character development, is where the heart of this film lies.|ret||ret||tab|

Action abounds to be sure, but not quite as much as one would expect from the previews.|ret||ret||tab|

"The Transporter" is a pretty good "dumb fun" diversion, but fans of Hong Kong will surely have seen better, while fans of Luc Besson will long for another offering of the caliber of "La Femme Nikita."|ret||ret||tab|

[[In-content Ad]]