Transporter sequel

does not deliver

By Chhun Sun
The Collegian

“Transporter 2,” which stars famed England actor Jason Statham and model-turned actor Amber Valletta, has all the makings of a bad action film.

In “The Transporter” sequel, which opens in theaters today, Frank Martin (Statham) is back to his old tricks, although he stumbles upon it by accident.

He once was a mercenary “transporter” who moves goods — drugs, human or otherwise — in the trunk of his car without looking inside it. Then he found a pretty woman bound and gagged in one particular job in the original movie.

But now, he’s taking some time off from his day joband fulfilling a favor for a friend by working as a chauffeur for the wealthy Billings family, taking six-year-old Jack to and from school.

Martin, the former Special Forces operative, finds himself in the middle of a kidnapping when Jack is taken away by a team of evil-doers — including Lola (Kate Nauta), an assassin dressed for a Victoria’s Secret lingerie show — whose purpose is to spread a deadly virus through the kid, and at the same time earn $5 million in non-sequential bills.

This is when “Transporter 2,” directed by Louis Leterrier (artistic director in the original), goes into action — in effort to get the child back and gain back the trust of the mother, Audrey (Valleta). But it’s done in a way that is far removed from reality.

Martin is a human superhero who’s like MacGuyver in action fighting and has the driving ability of Herbie, flying from one parking garage to another several blocks away.

But to save the film from absolute boredom, beloved French actor Francois Berleand gives enough comic relief to earn laughter from the audience; that is, if they have yet to transport themselves out of the theaters.