The Story: Frank Martin (Statham) stars as a retired military special-ops kind of guy who now makes a living as a glorified courier – a transporter. He will transport anything anywhere for the right price. But when Frank breaks one of his own rules – don’t ever open the package – he finds himself caught up in a web involving kidnapping, smuggling, slave-trading, and murder. The package in question, you see, is a beautiful Asian woman, Lai (Shu Qi). Frank delivers her to Wall Street (Matt), who asks him to deliver another package – this one containing explosives (Wall Street wants no loose ends). Frank narrowly escapes being turned into sushi, and hooks up with Lai, who tells him about the plot to smuggle Asians and turn them into slaves. Mayhem ensues as Frank tries to stop the dastardly trade.

UMSFC Review: Action movies should be fun; there’s no law that says they have to be literary masterpieces. The Transporter is fun and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. The opening sequence establishes the mood of the film as tongue-firmly-ensconced-in-cheek. The stunts are exciting and fresh, and it’s enjoyable to watch Statham show off his martial arts skills. Matt proves again that he’s got “twisted and insane” all wrapped up – Wall Street makes a strong entrance (watch for the subtle humor in this scene) as an arrogant villain who gets his jollies from contemplating or committing murder. Matt puts his charm and persuasive voice to good use as an unexpected counterpoint to the sociopathic essence of the character. As much as Matt’s fans might wish he would play the hero more often, there’s no denying that he makes a terrific bad guy.