The Transporter Refueled (2015)

Review: I wasn't a big fan of this movie, mainly because Ed Skrein is not in the same calibre as Jason Statham and the whole Transporter concept went straight out of the window really quickly. The movie is basically about a prostitute, Anna (Loan Chabanol), who seeks revenge against a Russian kingpin with her trusty sidekicks. She uses Frank Martin (Ed Skrein) to achieve her goal, by kidnapping his father Frank Martin (Ray Stevenson) but they have to go through the Russian Kingpins henchmen before crushing his operation. Personally, I wasn't that impressed with the action scenes because they seemed a bit too, timed to perfection. The storyline also was a bit weak but I liked Stevenson, who brought some humour to the project. Ed Skrein hasn't got the "hard man" persona like Statham, who suited the role as the original Frank Martin, so I doubt that this franchise has taken a turn for the better. In terms of a straight out action movie, the movie is watchable and the chemistry between father and son, is quite good but I personally don't think that Skrein was the right choice for the role. Average!Round-Up: Because of the popularity of the original franchise starring Jason Statham, this movie was bound to make a profit at the box office but I'm not sure that the next movie will. Now that people have seen Ed Skreins interpretation of Frank Martin, like Jeremy Renner as Bourne, I'm sure they will be begging for Statham to come back, just like Matt Damon has. If they carry on with Skrein, they really need to pull of a decent storyline, we're he is actually transporting. Anyway, this movie was directed by Camille Delamarre, 36, who also brought you Brick Mansions, starring Paul Walker. You can definitely tell that he was more interested in the action side of this movie, than the storyline and there wasn't much depth to the characters, so I wasn't that bothered if they were dead or alive. As I didn't have high expectations for this film, I wasn't that disappointed but it's a shame to see a decent franchise go in the wrong direction.Budget: $25million Worldwide Gross: $73millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/thrillers starring Ed Skrein, Ray Stevenson, Loan Chabanol, Gabriella Wright and Tatiana Pajkovic. 3/10

Essentially The Transporter Refueled is a 90 minute Audi Commercial, every TV commercial photo angle for the car is in nearly every scene. This goes far beyond simple "Product placement". Ed Skrein is a PATHETIC replacement for the franchise original Transporter Jason Statham, Skrein look constantly constipated and very angry about it. Loan Chabanol and all the other girls in the film act like they are on a Fashion Show runway instead to trying to act. The only saving grace in acting in this film is Ray Stevenson, who is actually believable in his character. Without Statham, just please retire this film franchise already!

This is truly a masterpiece of pathetic. Seriously? Bad Russians with even worse accents? A plot that has been done so much I thought the actors needn't memorize their lines, this is the same tired script from every bad Russian movie of the 70s and 80s. I actually found myself feeling sorry for the "Russians", those poor actors didn't get paid nearly enough to have to say this idiotic drivel publicly, poor guys, The protagonist, although more like a protagonist wannabe seems to spend more time talking to his father, pacing, and asking stupid questions than actually doing anything of value. The saving grace of the entire movie is the father, reminiscent of the 60's James Bond characters, he at least has good taste in wine and women. I gave it a one because frankly, one cannot give .5 a point.

We enjoyed the first three movies, and were looking forward to see how the franchise reboot worked out.Deep meaningful characters? no. Completely unpredictable ending? no.Lots of car chases? yes. Cute girls? yes. A little tongue-in-cheek? yes. Would you go to the cinema to see it? no. Rent it? absolutely.Great for an evening where you want to relax and be entertained without too much (typical American movie) moral baggage and just enjoy some semi-violent fun.Great fun - will watch the next one if/when it comes out.