If one were feeling particularly generous, parallels could be made between the recent spate of French-produced English language action films and the heyday of the spaghetti Western. Between the campy play at sophistication, the stylistic exploitation of genre tropes and the strange juxtaposition of gritty Anglophone leading men battling actors whose onscreen dialogue appears to be their first English words ever spoken, both subgenres could arguably be seen as platforms for non-Americans to get away with projects that Hollywood studios would never green light.
However, if The Transporter: Refueled is any indication, the Euro-American action movie will likely never produce visionaries such as Leone or Corbucci because, in actuality, it is little more than a cash cow for cinéma du look pioneer Luc Besson, who has directed, co-written or produced such notable genre entries as Lucy, the Taken series and the newly recast Transporter franchise. Besson’s once-refreshing reimagining of American films (The Professional, The Fifth Element) has given way to the wholesale adoption of some of our industry’s most tiresome and shameless tactics.
In the case of The Transporter: Refueled, which appears to be as much travelogue as action yarn and littered with product placement, even if this movie makes no money at the box office, you can expect to see a fifth entry because it looks like it turned a profit before it even reached the screen.
Refueled sees the role of Frank Martin, formerly occupied by the unceasingly watchable Jason Statham, taken over by the up-and-coming Ed Skrein, who retains his predecessor’s deadpan charm and wit. This entry sees Martin and his father (Ray Stevenson) teaming up with a valiant band of former prostitutes to take down a Russian international sex trafficker. The less said about the plot the better, which is also true of earlier Transporter entries; the looser the narrative, the more space there is for oil slick fights and insane bicycle chases.
Refueled has its moments, most notably a drawer fight (yes, a drawer fight) that wouldn’t be out of place in the best Jackie Chan movie. But the franchise has always been at its strongest when it wears its own silliness on its sleeve without presenting itself as an ironic piss-take, which it has always done by committing fully to its set pieces—no matter how preposterous—and the charisma and entertainment value of watching Jason Statham do absolutely anything. Both aspects are somewhat lacking in this newest entry; fights and chase sequences are so stylized that they rarely feel genuinely exciting, and although Skrein certainly belongs in front of a camera and looks confident in a fight, he lacks Statham’s freneticism and ferociousness in the role of Martin.
There’s nothing really wrong with The Transporter: Refueled—though it does lean heavily on the odious and overused trope of action movies abusing women into standing for something—but there’s really no compelling reason to see it, either. There is a place in the world for the sleek, silly style of the Transporter series, and Skrein has the makings of an action leading man. True to its name, Refueled feels more like a pit stop than a journey. Let’s hope the next entry actually uses that fuel.
Playing this week
Ant-Man
Dope
The Gift
Hitman: Agent 7
Inside Out
Jurassic World
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Minions
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
Mistress America
No Escape
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Sinister 2
Straight Outta Compton
A Walk in the Woods
War Room
We Are Your Friends
Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
244-3213
