The Transporter 2

Delivery man Frank Martin (Jason Statham) has taken an assignment as a chauffeur for young Jack Billings (Hunter Clary), the son of the Drug Enforcement Chief (Matthew Modine) and his lovely but distraught wife (Amber Valletta). This portion of "The Transporter 2" is effectively lifted from the Tony Scott-directed thriller "Man on Fire," which is hardly an unheard-of circumstance, but then the film goes on to involve a deadly virus that the ruthless Gianni (noted Italian actor Alessandro Gassman) intends to spread by infecting Jack, who will then infect his father, who will infect the dignitaries at a drug conference. This is effectively the storyline of "Mission: Impossible 2," and now we're pushing it on the plagiarism front. Not that the target audience will care. It isn't the plot that matters here; rather, it's the hot car -- a black Audi A6 this time out -- and its hot, hunky, thoroughly dependable and equally brutal driver, and his heroic antics, which include beating senseless a good number of foes. Most of this is choreographed by the great Corey Yuen (director of "The Transporter" and the international hit "So Close," among many Hong Kong action flicks), and is for the most part exciting and very watchable, as is Statham, an understated hero who looks good in black.

In the original "Transporter," Frank has a number of rules which he claims never to break, until he does. For "The Transporter 2" (a profoundly unimaginative title), he still has several rules, but he's not quite so staunch about breaking them. The filmmakers are not particularly staunch about rules either. They ignore the laws of physics, narrative coherency, reason and most anything else that gets in the way of achieving their goal, which one assumes is entertaining their audience. And in that, they succeed. The audience certainly has a good time. Starring Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valletta, Katie Nauta, Matthew Modine and Jason Flemyng. Directed by Louis Leterrier. Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. Produced by Luc Besson and Steve Chasman. A Fox release. Action/Thriller. Rated PG-13 intense sequences of violent action, sexual content, partial nudity and brief language. Running time: 88 min