(France/Belgium, 96 min.)
Dir. Camille Delamarre, Writ. Bill Cooper, Adam Collage, Luc
Besson
Starring: Ed Skrein, Ray Stevenson, Loan Chabanol, Gabriella
Wright, Tatiana Pajkovic
 |
| Ed Skrein stars in The Transporter: Refueled. VVS Films. |
Ed Skrein is to Jason Statham what margarine is to butter.
The Transporter franchise gets a
reboot (or a “refuel,” in this case) and it lathers a substitute in place of the
rich ingredient that makes the original Luc Besson movies so entertaining. Skrein,
while perfectly serviceable, doesn’t bring quite the same charm, humour, and
ruggedness to the role that Statham does. The
Transporter: Refueled is still more palatable than dry toast even if it has
the margarine man at the helm in place of Jason Statham, but the Transporter
goes meterosexual as he escorts girls at high speeds and fights with a shopping
bag and an iPhone instead of high-calibre guns.
The franchise, like the Fast and the Furii flicks, mostly needs only passengers though since it’s more about the action than it is about the man. Refueled still provides the same mindless escapism with which the Transporter franchise burns rubber. Pedal to the metal with buds and brews.
The film offers both a sequel and an origin story of sorts as
Skrein plays a younger Transporter, the anonymous chauffeur who gets shit done,
who takes an assignment from Anna (Loan Chabanol), the ringleader of a quartet
of girls in search of revenge. They recruit/coerce the Transporter and his dad
(Ray Stevenson) to help them take on a sex-trade racket known as Le Coeur
Brisé, which forces women into prostitution. Cue the girls and guns as Refueled offers a few nifty revenge
scenes and some gratuitous girl-on-girl action—is it really necessary for some
make-out sessions after setting fire to some corpses?—and the film moderately
succeeds at adding strong female characters to the scene while still catering
to the male demographic.
The girls play backseat drivers (on several levels) to the
Transporter’s action chops as the film careens them around France in a sporty
Audi, evading baddies and catching sweet air whilst jumping jumbo jets. Refueled more or less abandons logic
once the action pushes into high gear mid-way through the film with an
eye-catching heist sequence at a nightclub. The scene features a lengthy
martial arts battle with Skrein, a table, and four moderately inept guards as
some nifty camerawork creates a stylish barrage of rough and tumble action.
Once the gang flees the scene, Refueled
takes them on a full throttle chase that doesn’t let up. It’s all a little ridiculous
and over the top, but it’s a guilty pleasure for anyone looking for action-heavy
escapism. There’s no harm in refuelling every now and then!
A/V: The Blu-ray’s
1080p 2.40:1 widescreen picture is solid, while the Dolby 5.1 True HD ensures
that Transporter: Refueled goes vroom vroom to its full potential.
Bonus features: Three
extra perks tackle a trio of the film’s highlights. The featurette “La Coeur
Brisé: Les Femmes of Refueled”
focuses on the actresses in the film and the characters they play, while “Frank
Martin: The Reluctant Hero” lets the cast and crew talk about Ed Skrein’s
commitment to the role with ample footage of his preparations in stunts and
strength training. “Rocketing from 0 - 60,” probably the one bonus of the three
most worth watching, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the awesome stunt
driving. It’s also a great commercial for the Audi S8, which really deserves
its name in the opening credits.
Rating: ★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
The Transporter: Refueled is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and
digital from VVS Films.
