Transporter Refueled review: “Evokes nothing from the audience other than a strong desire to go home.”
Transporter Refueled review
Remember the original Transporter series of films? They helped cement Jason Staham as one of the huge hitting action heroes. Statham bowed out of the franchise after a third film, but as we know all too well these days, something as little as the lead star leaving won’t stop Hollywood from continuing on regardless. So who have they picked to fill Statham’s massive shoes?
Enter Ed Skrein, best known for playing the first version of Daario Naharis in HBO’s fantastic Game of Thrones. There was some controversy when he was replaced at the start of season four, but it seems that the truth behind that recast is that Skrein had been cast in Transporter Refueled and he thought that this was the better career choice. How, I have no idea. Even worse, the film is rather dull and, try as he may, Skrein can’t quite emulate that easy charm that his predecessor is so well-known for.
Proceedings are all rather vanilla and formulaic. On paper the plot has our new (but sadly not better) transporter hired to transport Anna and her trio of friends as they try to take down the local mob boss pimp, someone who shares a history with the transporter. After an inevitable double cross of sorts the transporter is later forced into helping the women’s cause when they inject her father with a deadly virus.
Transporter Refueled review
In reality the plot actually goes fight sequence, explosion, car chase, exposition, explosion, car chase, fight sequence, exposition, costume change, sex scene, fight sequence, explosion, end. It might help if any of these were any good scenes, but they’re all rather unimaginative and a little boring to be perfectly honest. That or totally ludicrous, I mean, who stores their ancient Viking weaponry aboard their private yacht? And who, when faced with a locked gate and a heap of bad guys, decides to put the car into first, get out and have some hand to hand combat over just driving through everything in their way?
In today’s cut-throat market it’s hard to see how Transporter Refueled will make a mark. What makes things even harder for it is that it comes out only a week after the latest Hitman film and the two are both so bland they could easily be mistaken for each other. In fact a friend of mine did just that whilst watching the trailers.
A sorry entry into a series that’s only real positive was its leading star, Transporter Refueled evokes nothing from the audience other than a strong desire to go home.
Transporter Refueled review, Kat Hughes, September 2015.
Transporter Refueled crashes its way into UK cinemas on 4th September.
