Plot: What’s it about?
Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a man who can transport anything to anywhere, a master courier who never fails to deliver the goods. He has worked for clients of all kinds, from high powered political figures to bottom of the barrel drug dealers, with no questions asked. Even when the assignment is dangerous and involves incredible risk, he never hesitates and always comes through. His latest mission is an unusual one, as he is being paid to escort a child to school and back. The child is the son of a government official on the verge of a huge move against the drug cartels, so his family is at risk. When he agrees to take the child to a dentist appointment, he walks into an ambush and faces immense danger. But Frank isn’t going to back down, so even with his life on the line, he pushes on to complete his assignment.
I wasn’t a fan of the original Transporter, so of course, I wasn’t too keen on this sequel, but I still decided to give Transporter 2 a spin. I don’t mind action movies at all, but I do want a hint of realism, at least I do if the movie tries to be serious in tone. The Transporter was not tongue in cheek, yet it launched some of the most over the top, implausible action sequences out there. I can suspend disbelief, but only so far and I hoped Transporter 2 would be a little more grounded. That would not be the case. The action scenes are even more impossible and while that is bad, at this level it serves as hilarious. In addition, the CGI work in these scenes is so bad, you can’t help but be entertained, though not in the intended fashion. As laughable as the action scenes are, Transporter 2 is actually better than the original. The plot has more twists and turns, not to mention the less serious tone, but still, Transporter 2 is best suited as a rental.
Video: How does it look?
The Transporter 2 is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. As expected, the movie looks terrific and much better than the standard DVD edition. The image is bright and sharp, with a lot of depth and subtle details to dazzle the eyes. As is common with high definition (at least at this early stage) however, darker scenes yield a less dynamic presence. The sharpness falls and colors wash out a little, though the image still looks as good, if not better than a high end DVD transfer. But outside of the darker scenes, this is a crisp and vivid presentation, one that is a pleasure to watch. So we have a very good presentation, though an inconsistent one and overall, I think fans will be pleased here.
Audio: How does it sound?
As usual for these early Fox Blu-ray offerings, we have a DTS HD soundtrack on deck. I knew the track would be good, given how action oriented the movie is, but it surpassed my expectations. I still wouldn’t rank this as reference level, but it is one of the best Blu-ray soundtracks I’ve heard so far. The power is immense, so the surrounds remain active and firing on all cylinders throughout. But this isn’t power for the sake of power, as the track has great spatial and directional presence. The music is well handled also, with a lot of presence, while dialogue and other lower key elements sound great. This might not be an elite soundtrack, but it sounds great and should give fans some ammunition for their home theaters. This disc also includes Spanish and French language tracks, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
