Transporter: Refueled
‘Transporter: Refueled,’a reboot of the film “Transporter,” follows four girls seeking revenge on their abductors after being forced into human trafficking.
September 16, 2015
Lately, Hollywood seems to have been struck with a fear of original film ideas, as reboots have been occupying the box office, and director Camille Delamarre’s “Transporter Refueled” is no exception to this. Despite the title, the rebooted film seems to have lost its fuel through this new remake.
After a seven year gap, Delamarre has decided to bring Frank Martin, the “Transporter,” back to the big screen. However, this time portrayed by Ed Skrein, a familiar face from the popular TV show series, “Game of Thrones.” Skrein’s sharp, carved features and swift movements embodied the physique of the driver perfectly. However, his monotone and emotionless performance fail to compare with his striking looks.
The storyline is the equivalent to an overwhelming jigsaw puzzle, with all the pieces of the plot scattered about. The main story picks up when Frank is recruited by an enigmatic woman, Anna (Loan Chabanol,) and her three accomplices, to assist them in getting back at Stanislas Turgin (Anatole Taubman), who forced them into human trafficking for over a decade. Frank attempts to remove himself from the sketchy mission, but is forced to participate after his father is kidnapped and held hostage on multiple occasions.
Although the film largely revolves around a driver, it felt more like an hour and 40 minute long Audi car commercial. There are points in the film where the rather horribly nauseating camera work seemed to be focused on the specs of the car rather than the action or plot.
The only remotely cinematic shots are of the Audi vehicles, capturing every detail and feature of the cars. Close-ups, slow motion shots, first-person views, you name it; the cars are advertised in a quite unsubtle manner.
The “Transporter” movie series has drawn audiences in by its action sequences in the past, and aside from all the flaws from this new reboot, it often delivers in the action department. The combat scenes are very well executed, and exhilarating. No action scene is overdone or underdone with CGI effects, and they truly give Frank the heroic image.
The script is one of the most disappointing aspects of the film. The cast was aesthetically pleasing and fit their roles, but the words that left their pretty mouths sounded cheesy and pathetic to my ears. Despite the fact that they had various thick accents, the dialogue resembled a case of bad language dubbing.
With only $2.4 million in the box office receipts the opening Friday, this adaptation was a complete disappointment and was dominated by other opening movies during the Labor Day weekend.
