Movie Review: The Transporter Refueled


I was skeptical going in to The Transporter Refueled, because I loved the series when Jason Statham was the Transporter. However, due to salary cutbacks, we have a new Transporter (Ed Skrein) in this film, and although it's still a fun ride, it overall lacks depth and character development.

Frank Martin (Skrein) is good at his job; he doesn't ask questions, he doesn't exchange names, and he does what he's told. His father, Frank Senior (Ray Stevenson), has just retired from his job at the British embassy, and Frank Jr. drives him around since Frank Sr. doesn't really drive. Frank Jr. receives a mysterious phone call from a woman (Loan Chabanol) who wants his services, but when he goes for the pickup, the "packages" turn out to be two women - all of whom are harboring secrets. To ensure that he does their bidding, they kidnap his father, too, and Frank Jr. must help them get out of the prostitution ring that they've been enslaved in, or else they will kill his father.

I'm not sure if he was intentionally written this way or not, but the Transporter/Frank Jr. had no personality. We don't really learn anything about him, either, in the movie's 96 minute runtime, His father, however, played by Ray Stevenson (Divergent, Thor, Kill the Irishman), makes up for this, as we learn that he enjoys booze, women, and fraternizing with women, and almost has enough personality to make up for Frank Jr.'s lack of one. The acting overall was fine here, but we're not seeing this movie for the acting: we're seeing it for the stunts, which, although unbelievable, were definitely fun to watch.

Maybe see this movie. I'm giving this film 3/5 stars, because it was entertaining, but by the end of it, I was already forgetting it; it wasn't very memorable. There's a few action scenes that will make your jaw drop, however, as well as beautiful views of Monaco (or whatever European city was masquerading as Monaco - France, according to IMDb), and those alone make the film an enjoyable one. The Transporter Refueled  is not the best movie playing currently, but if you're looking for a "light" action movie, it's not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.

The Transporter Refueled is in theaters today, September 4th, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 96 minutes. 3 stars out of 5.

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