Transporter2 was theatrically released in France on 3 August 2005, by EuropaCorp, and was released in the United States on 2 September by 20th Century Fox. It received mixed reviews from critics with praise for Statham's performance, action sequences and direction, but criticism for its screenwriting. It grossed $89.1 million worldwide and was followed by the sequel Transporter 3 (2008).
Frank Martin has relocated from southern France to Miami, Florida where, as a favor to a friend, he becomes the temporary chauffeur for wealthy Audrey and Jefferson Billings. Frank bonds with their son Jack, picking him up from elementary school after subduing a gang of carjackers who try to steal his new Audi A8 W12. Preparing for a visit from his friend Inspector Tarconi, Frank rebuffs the drunken advances of Audrey, whose marriage has become strained.
When Frank takes Jack for a medical checkup, he realizes that impostors have killed the real doctor and receptionist. A lengthy fight erupts with the imposters, led by the trigger-happy Lola, but Frank escapes with Jack. Returning to the Billings' house, Frank receives a phone call explaining that he and Jack are in the sights of a sniper capable of penetrating the car's bulletproof glass. Forced at gunpoint to let Lola in the car and evade the police, Frank is taken to Gianni Chellini, the operation's ringleader, who demands a $5 million ransom from the Billings. The kidnappers leave with Jack, while Frank succeeds in removing an explosive from his car a split-second before detonation.
Assuring Audrey of his innocence, Frank recovers a syringe left by the kidnappers at the doctor's office, while Jack is found seemingly unharmed. With Tarconi's help, Frank tracks down one of the kidnappers, Dimitri, and pretends to inject him with the syringe. He follows Dimitri to a makeshift lab, where he fights off another henchman and discovers the kidnappers have manufactured a deadly and highly contagious virus; Jack has been infected, passing the virus to his parents. Frank is forced to kill Dimitri, while Chellini's scientist hurls the antidote out of the window. Retrieving one dose intact, Frank sneaks into the Billings' home, warning Audrey and using the antidote on Jack.
Jefferson, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, addresses a conference of heads of anti-drug organizations from around the world, unknowingly infecting them all. Frank races to Chellini's home, defeating his henchmen but discovering that Chellini has injected himself with the remaining supply of antidote. Chellini explains that the Colombian drug cartels hired him to eliminate their enemies, and that Frank cannot kill him and risk losing the antidote. Chellini leaves Lola to deal with Frank, who fatally impales her on a wine rack.
Chellini escapes by helicopter to a waiting jet to Colombia, while Frank steals his Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster and speeds to the airport, climbing into the jet's nose gear as it takes off. Killing the co-pilot, Frank confronts Chellini, who holds him at gunpoint. In the ensuing scuffle, the pilot is killed and the plane crash-lands in the ocean. Frank incapacitates Chellini while preserving the antidote in his bloodstream, pulling them out of the sinking plane as the police arrive.
At the hospital, the Billings are given the antidote and Jack has made a full recovery. After visiting the Billings in the hospital along with Jack, Frank drives Tarconi to the airport. Having dropped off Tarconi at the airport, Frank receives an unexpected call from someone who is looking for a transporter, to which he responds: "I'm listening".
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 52% based on reviews from 122 critics and an average rating of 5.4/10, with the reported consensus: "A stylish and more focused sequel to The Transporter, the movie is over-the-top fun for fans of the first movie."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 56 out of 100, based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[8]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film 3 stars out of 4 and said it was better than the original.[9] Stephen Hunterof the Washington Post gave it a negative review and wrote: "Statham isn't the best thing in Transporter 2; he's essentially the only thing."[10]
Director Louis Leterrier stated that Frank Martin was "the first gay action movie hero", suggesting that the character comes out when he refuses a woman's advances by saying, "It's because of who I am."[11] This is contradicted by the first film in the series, in which Martin sleeps with a woman, and Transporter 3, which Leterrier did not direct, in which Martin develops a heterosexual relationship. Asked his opinion of the third film, Leterrier stated that after re-watching his first two films "they aren't that gay".[12]
The soundtrack album for Transporter 2 was released in the United States on 6 September 2005 by TVT Records. It features sixteen tracks recorded by various artists, including the film score composed by Alexandre Azaria. James Christopher Monger from Allmusic rated the album three stars out of five, citing Grand National's "Talk Amongst Yourselves", Anggun's "Saviour" and Mylo's "Paris Four Hundred" as the highlights of the soundtrack.[13]
In 2006, Louis Leterrier re-released an uncensored version of Transporter 2 on DVD. The uncensored release is roughly 25 seconds longer than the theatrical cut, and contains improved CGI, particularly during the car chase from the hospital as well as the private jet scene. This release also contains more violent footage and blood during the fight scenes, and contains more nudity in certain scenes with Lola. It is available in Japan (R2 NTSC), France and the UK (both R2 PAL), as well as Thailand (R3 NTSC). It is also available on Blu-ray Disc in France and Japan (both releases are region-free). The Blu-ray was temporarily banned in North America for legal reasons, but has since been re-released. The uncensored fight footage as well as a longer car chase scene was only featured as deleted scenes on the US DVD release. Also the deleted footage included the killing of the doctor.
A 2008 sequel, entitled Transporter 3, was released in the U.S. on 26 November 2008. The film follows Frank Martin as he returns to France. It is the only film in the Transporter trilogy to be distributed by Lionsgate in the US.
A fourth Transporter film was planned to feature original franchise star Jason Statham, who was offered a three film deal with EuropaCorp to produce additional installments. After negotiations with Statham fell through, Skrein was hired and the franchise was rebooted, featuring no returning cast members from the first three films. Principal photography took place in Paris.
The Transporter Refueled was theatrically released on 4 September 2015 in the United States and in France five days later, by EuropaCorp; it is the first Transporter film primarily distributed by EuropaCorp. The film received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the screenplay and found it underwhelming compared to other Transporter films. It grossed $72.6 million worldwide.
In 1995, Russian criminal mobster Arkady Karasov and his associates Leo Imasov and Yuri took over rival gangs' sex trafficking business at the French Riviera. One of the prostitutes is a young Anna and Massa. Karasov takes an interest in taking Massa with him.
Fifteen years later, Anna calls someone to implement their plan to bring down Karasov's criminal enterprise. Former special forces operative Frank Martin is a skilled chauffeur who transports classified packages and people for questionable clients in his Audi S8. Frank picks up Frank Martin Sr., a retired MI6 agent and Frank Jr.'s father.
Later that night, at the Carlton Cannes Hotel, Anna and Qiao kill the accountant in charge of Karasov's money and place a dead prostitute's body in the hotel room before escaping. At Frank Jr.'s residence, during a dinner with his father, Anna calls Frank Jr. for a "transporter", and asks him to meet her at the Hotel Barrire Le Majestic Cannes. The next morning, Karsov and his lady, Massa, discover that his accountant has been killed, and a dead prostitute is found wearing a necklace that belonged to his group.
Karasov shows his account to his associates, but Gina manages to sneak aboard the yacht and transfer all the stolen money to his account. Double-crossed, a shootout occurs, in which Qiao and Maria are killed in the crossfire. Gina steals back the money before Massa shoots Gina. Before Massa can retrieve the money, Gina strangles Massa before succumbing to her wound. Frank Jr. confronts Karasov on a cliffside. Anna intervenes, shoots Karasov, and sends his body plummeting into the ocean. Frank Jr. convinces Anna to leave her life of revenge behind, and Anna drives away. One month later, Anna distributes the stolen money to the families of her friends and Frank Jr. and Sr.
EuropaCorp wanted Statham to sign a three contract deal, without revealing the script first. English actor Ed Skrein replaced Statham as Frank Martin in the fourth installment of the series.[8] In March 2015, the title was changed from The Transporter Legacy to The Transporter Refueled.
The film was previously set to be released on 6 March 2015.[9] On 5 November 2014, EuropaCorp moved the film for a 19 June 2015 release.[13] On 1 April 2015, EuropaCorp again moved the film back to a 4 September 2015.[14]
On a cargo ship at sea, two workers open a shipping container to discover barrels of toxic waste, and succumb to the deadly fumes. The ship's captain, aware of the cargo, disposes of their bodies. Meanwhile, having returned from Miami to the French Riviera, Frank Martin is unsuccessfully fishing with his friend Inspector Tarconi, who receives a call about a black Audi A8 that sped through French customs and evaded police. In Odesa, Ukrainian Environmental Agency Minister Leonid Tomilenko receives a threat from corrupt Ecocorp official Jonas Johnson to reopen business negotiations.
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