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| Worldwide Box Office Gross - See All |
1. Titanic |
| 1997 |
$1,835,300,000 |
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| 2003 |
$1,129,219,252 |
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest |
| 2006 |
$1,006,996,572 |
4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |
| 2001 |
$968,657,891 |
5. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace |
| 1999 |
$922,379,000 |
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transporter 2
Transporter 2 betrays the legacy of the first Transporter, if such a thing is possible. In that movie (which is actually just decent enough to merit a follow-up), The Italian Job's Jason Statham was Frank, a puggish ex–Special Forces commando in the south of France who specializes in high-risk driving jobs (bodies in the trunk, bank robbery getaways) and fights, in a smart black suit, as if inhabited by the soul of a grizzled Asian martial-arts master. Showcased in clever if preposterous action sequences, his superhuman killing skills were imaginatively choreographed and lucidly shot, at least compared to the sequel, which is one of those action movies that flash-edits its fight scenes into epileptic nothingness. Here, Frank is in Miami chauffeuring Matthew Modine and Amber Valletta's 6-year-old, who gets kidnapped and infected with a deadly virus. (The antidote is kept, as most antidotes are, in a glowing purple orb.) In place of the original's straight-faced ridiculousness, this one plays like pure parody. In the best scene, the villain has affixed a bomb to the bottom of Frank's speeding Audi A8. To remove it, Frank rides the car off a ramp and spins a 180 in midair, so that the car is soaring upside down as he scrapes the undercarriage against a dangling construction hook, which, of course, knocks the bomb off the car just as it blows. Feel free to chortle: T2 is more unintentionally entertaining than many bad movies, and it's definitely a funnier car romp than The Dukes of Hazzard. Yet we expected more from director Louis Leterrier, fresh off this year's underrated actioner Unleashed, and co-writer Luc Besson (The Professional), whose good-guy/bad-guy wordplay is at the MST3K-ready ''Sorry, this flight's canceled!''/''No, you're canceled!'' level. The greatest thing about the movie is Statham, a charismatic silent, deadly type who deserves to take the wheel behind a better franchise.
The filmmakers reveal their James Bond-like franchise aspirations a little too nakedly in this sequel to the 2002 thriller that became a sleeper international hit, but it must be said that "Transporter 2" really does deliver the goods. A fast-paced B-movie that features a series of spectacularly staged and choreographed action set pieces, this second effort starring British actor Jason Statham as the taciturn but deadly driver will no doubt surpass the original's boxoffice take and clearly pave the way for future installments.
Switching from a BMW to a stunning black Audi A8 that complements his character's standard uniform of black suit and tie, Statham again demonstrates his blend of charisma and physical prowess in his second go-round as Frank Martin, the former Special Forces operative who serves as a "transporter" for hire. Having relocated from the French Mediterranean to Miami, Frank has a temporary gig working for a wealthy couple (Matthew Modine, Amber Valletta), for whom he drives their 6-year-old son (Hunter Clary) to and from school. Much like Denzel Washington's similar character in "Man on Fire," Frank has developed a real bond with his young charge.
So he naturally springs into action when the tyke is kidnapped by a gang of ruthless criminals, led by a typically tanned Eurotrash villain (Alessandro Gassman, son of Vittorio) and his sexy homicidal girlfriend (Kate Nauta), who prefers to shoot her guns while wearing only her underwear. Tracking down the kidnappers while simultaneously avoiding the authorities -- thanks to his French buddy (Francoise Berleand) who is conveniently being held at the police station -- Frank uncovers a plot to ingest the kid with an airborne poison that will kill everyone with whom he comes into contact, including his DEA father.
The plot, of course, is merely an excuse for the nonstop action sequences, superbly staged by director Louis Leterrier and martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen (they were, respectively, the "artistic director" and director of the original). Highlights include a car chase taking place on the beach and a multilevel parking lot, among other locations; a race between a bus and a speedboat, the latter of which naturally takes to land; an amazing fight sequence in which Frank dispatches a gang of hoods with a fire hose; and a battle on a small jet that culminates with the plane crashing into the ocean.
The last episode well illustrates the over-the-top aspects of the action, which veers into outlandish Bond-style territory without having the budget to support it. The main character is such a compelling figure that he really doesn't need to be showcased in such credibility-stretching sequences, presented without a trace of tongue-in-cheek humor.
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