Transporter star "heir to seagal-van damme throne"

[GlimmerMan]

I think that Jet Li is awesome. Romeo must die and Kiss Of The Dragon were cool and while The One and Cradle 2 The Grave didn't impress me as much, Jet's new movie Unleashed contains some of the most brutal fight scenes ever, and Jet is much better as an actor in this movie too.

All hail Stumpus.

 

[aikidoboynj]

I didnt mean that Jet's films do bad in the orient, I know they do good there. The only movie I liked from him was Lethal Weapon 4... But he didnt have one speaking line and it wasn't wire fu.

I agree that Jason isn't going to be the formulaic action hero, I simply think of all of the current actioniers that he has the most going for him. On a side note I don't think Revolver is going to be that great.
Honestly look at the action heros of yesterday...Look at the action heros of today? ONG BAK? Jet? Vin? Rock? I wish Rock and Vin would play more harder roles you now what i mean right? I read that Jason wanted to make transporter 2 more violent and class itself as Rated R but obviously he coundn't pull the neccessary strings.
Vin Diesel or Rock really needs to make a Rated R movie and bring the adult action genre back to the big screens, its been absent since 93.

 

[Nick]

No don't worry I know what you are saying. Diesel and Rock in my opinion are very overrated anyways. I seen the new Preview for Doom which is a fabulous Game Trilogy but the movie just looks very corny. They actually shot many scenes ala the game. From the characters perspective. Looks almost as bad as what Uwe Boll did to House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark. Speaking of this menace to society Jason is going to be in his next Film which frightens me. It will leave a stain mark on his career he will never erase. I swear I think Uwe Boll is worse than Ed Wood.

Revolver to me looks mightily fine. I enjoy gambling movies. Guy Ritchie made two very enjoyable film in the past Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. I found that Madonna film Swept Away to be atrocious but she is his wife etc If it wasn't for her it would never be made. Plus Revolver's cinematography in one scene in particular looks great. We will just have to see.

Rock to me still hasn't proved anything. Rundown was enjoyable. Scorpion King I found to be barely what you call entertainment. Did we need another Mummy Film? Even Mummy 2 was stretching the elastic. More of the same in my opinion. Walking Tall was just trash. Diesels Films aren't too impressive either. A Man Apart could have been a real gritty film but to me it still looked watered down. Rest of his films are mediocre. Pitch Black was enjoyable through. So yea we do need some new heroes. The ones we have are barely what you can call heroes.

 

[aikidoboynj]

Yep that sums it up. Of all of Vin's movies I liked Fast and the Furious, Pitch Black, and I agree with you about A Man Apart, it seemed he tried to go Hard To Kill ala Seagal but then decided to back out.


I know Im so upset that the Rock was even cast as the Marine from the Doom games. I loved those games I still do, and I can't help but think this is just gonna be another star laced video game that is horrible...Aka Street Fighter. What really makes me upset about the whole DOOM movie thing is they do infact have a cool ass story, the game also introduced some of the coolest looking monsters I've seen for a game in that day and its a shame that they are going to totally rip apart the original story and place there over done hollywood blow job on the thing!

 

[TDWoj]

Well, I just came back from watching Transporter 2 and I must say I enjoyed myself. Frank Martin (Statham) is just a little too good to be true, but it was still a fun film to watch.

I also have to say that I am getting a bit tired of wire-fu / CGI fights and car chases, though; the science-fiction aspect of all those remarkable flips, twists and turns is starting to get a bit stale. I want to see a realistic fight and a realistic car chase... (note to self: rent Bullitt and The French Connection as soon as I get some money).

Dialogue (what there was of it ) was fun - snappy one-liners which are what works best in this kind of film. And he should have shot the evil babe when she was coming down the steps, but then we wouldn't have had the strings of beads-fu fight .

Now, I suppose, I'll have to rent the first Transporter.

Oh, and the thing I liked about Statham is that he isn't pretty, and he isn't young.

3 1/2 out of 5 for me.

(It lost that extra half point because I didn't feel like writing when I came home. Gosh, it's been ages since I've seen a movie that has made me want to write. What's up with that?)

 

[Nick]

What did you think of that remarkable car flip towards the crane? Won't spoil the rest for everyone. I know my movie theatre was laughing and laughing some more.

 

[TDWoj]

What did you think of that remarkable car flip towards the crane? Won't spoil the rest for everyone. I know my movie theatre was laughing and laughing some more.

Well, there weren't that many people in the movie theatre, and the ones in the back row were talking through the movie most of the time, so it was hard to tell what they were reacting to, if anything, or if they just wanted a dark place to talk...

My reaction was, "yeah, right.... pull the other one why don't you." I didn't laugh; but my suspension of disbelief snapped like a faulty bungee cord.

Cory Yuen was responsible for the fight scenes, and he was also the second unit director, I noticed, which means, I think, he was directing the car chases.

That's what I mean, though; the "action" in these kinds of movies is getting so out there in terms of fakery that it's not only become annoying but also boring. Yes, read my lips - boring. And unconvincing.

As an evening's diversion it was almost worth $7.50. I should have waited, though, and gone tomorrow afternoon, and saved myself $3.00. Then I could have rented The French Connection for the weekend.

 

[seagalfan128]

Don't bash Jason Statham. That man is more agile and athletic than probably any of the other action stars you mentioned...and whether you like it or not, right now he's got the best box office numbers. His martials is good, I don't konw what people complain about. It's not a certain style, he's like a street fighter with martial art techniques and what not. The man does 80% of his stunts, including driving since the man can really drive well in real life. He's more animated than any action or martials arts action hero period...and he shows more intensity than of them.

The action from the Transporter 2, yes, was a little farfetched. The suspension of disbelief was taken too far. But, the barrel roll with the car at least looked good digitally, it could of looked at worse with the production Seagal get's these days, and be honest. I really think Statham's personality and cinematography made this movie. The fight scenes were good, especially the hose fight. But the final scene in the plane just made the last 10 minutes a comedy. BUT THE MOVIE WAS A FUN AND ENJOYABLE FILM...WHAT WERE YOU LOOKING FOR, ACADEMY AWARD WINNING STUFF

But going back to what Nick said about action being farfetched it's become boring...But Seagal received TONS of criticism about being boring for doing moves that are realistic. I mean, if you're a martial artist, this isn't for you because it lacks realism. But c'mon don't let the lack of adventure ruin any of your movies. It's fun and creative. When Statham does 2 backflips and kicks 2 guys in the head, that's when I'll get mad. But his stuff was somewhat plausible if you had special powers...The fighting was taken to the extreme...More like the plane scene, the barrel roll and when Statham races of the roof of one garage building and lands on the other.

 

[TDWoj]

Um... did I bash Jason Statham? I did not. I rather liked the character of Frank Martin, and I liked Statham in the role. What I didn't like was the fake fighting. Sorry, but there it is; it was mostly wire and cgi-assisted and overly (and obviously) choreographed and I'm just getting rather annoyed by it. It was well-executed and the timing in this movie was spot on - no slow spots in it at all, the action just kept moving along. But the fighting, the car chases, the stunts were all assisted by mechanical means, and it looked fake because I knew it couldn't possibly happen like that, and that's my main gripe. That's all.

 

[gunslinger]

Jason might not be a "martial arts actionstar" but he is the only real decent contender for the toughmen action star crown, joining men like Bruce Willis, Arnold and Sly. Next year alone Jason's got THREE action pictures coming out. Hopefully in a year or so they'll be another Transporter too. Long live Jason!

 

[aikidoboynj]

EXACTLY Gunslinger...all theses people criticize him and still praise the horrible work Seagal does...As fake and farfetched as the transporter films have been they were both better than anything this guy has done since 92!!!! YES 92 (Exit Wounds bla)..

This guy is ten times better than any other action hero on the table today, and instead of respecting the guy he gets bashed "hes an asshole, blah" this guy is in great shape, and stretch like Van Damme, can act better than any of em, and most important for an action hero- HE LOOKS THE DAMN PART!

All he needs to make is his "marked for death" or his "above the law." Grimey, urban and realistic action movies, with real fights, real rated R action, and he has hinted he was to do Rated R action...So ready or not this guy is gonna be the only action star Im willing to shell out 10 bucks to watch kick some ass...No comedy, no bs...just asskicking thats what this guy needs and once this rated R movie does good, even moderatly good that will be the start of the new action movie...a return to the adult action movie which is so needed...

He needs to get more successful and see if he can get the pull he deserves in movies...Im sure ten years down the road he wont balloon up and look like an IDIOT trying to be so cool and suave but being a fatass instead.

TD..IMO Transporter 2 was better than Transporter 1...

 

[gunslinger]

Hi Aikido,

Apparently one of Jason's new pictures, Chaos, is supposed to be a tough, gritty urban picture that wil be rated R. Hopefully it's true. I guess if they ever release the film we'll find out!

 

[shihonage]

Jason might not be a "martial arts actionstar" but he is the only real decent contender for the toughmen action star crown, joining men like Bruce Willis, Arnold and Sly. Next year alone Jason's got THREE action pictures coming out. Hopefully in a year or so they'll be another Transporter too. Long live Jason!

The problem is, Rambo, Commando, and Die Hard were made before wire-fu and CGI became common. Thats why they felt real. Like TDWoj, I would welcome Jason Statham doing something that feels real with open arms, but the Transporter formula isn't.

A movie is immersive, because it has a universe and it lets you, the viewer, know the boundaries of that universe. When you see the protagonist come close to those boundaries, you start to worry for them. You empathize and think of possible solutions out of the situations they're in.

Good CGI is CGI you don't notice. When CGI starts to severely violate laws of physics and probability, any suspense of disbelief flies out the window. Unfortunately in most films CGI is very noticeable.

The extreme example of this would be recent 3 movies by George Lucas, where I couldn't bring myself to care for anything or anyone whatsoever, because I knew that when a Jedi is in trouble, if I think of any realistic solution to his dilemma, I will be wrong.
Oh no, the Jedi is surrounded by three saber wielding maniacs ! Will he jump in the sewer ? Will he use one as a human shield ?
No, instead, at the critical moment the Kool-Aid man will break through the wall and save him from the impending doom. And I bet if that scene WAS in Episode III, nobody would've made a peep.

The best use of CGI that I learned about was in "The Pianist" where it was used for the wheelchair scene and to render the ruined cities. I didn't even know it was CGI at the time ! The wheelchair scene had a real and devastating effect on me. So did the other CGI-assisted scene where the Nazis run over people in a car.

 

[gunslinger]

Good point. CGI is way over used.

 

[TDWoj]

I say this again - I was NOT bashing Jason Statham and I wish to goodness people would actually READ my posts before flying off the handle. I said I liked him in the role; from a technical point of view the pacing in the film was excellent; it was a good story.

I am, from a personal perspective, simply tired of wire-work and CGI in action movies because it's overused, overdone and so out there my suspension of disbelief can't handle it anymore.

Now that I've said this for the THIRD time (in the hopes people will get it), I am looking forward to seeing Statham in another film, hopefully with more realistic action in it.

And as for CGI in Star Wars - in that instance, I EXPECT CGI because the Jedi are, after all, warriors who use a form of "magic" to get their tasks done (and no, the Kool-Aid man doesn't always come through the wall to save them - on that I'd have to disagree with you). CGI and wires belong in Star Wars-type films; I don't think CGI and wires belong in as many action films as it's being used in these days - which is pretty much all of them.

 

[aikidoboynj]

Yes I am also tired of CGI and wire work, as I have also stated numerous times before as well...If only stupid Jet Li would stop stuffing it down our throats maybe other people would slowly stop using it to...
I agree Star Wars can make good use of it, I can't comment on the last 2 movies made because I didn't watch them...I also agree, that the best CGI is CGI that goes unnoticed...

Statham in a tough, gritty urban picture that wil be rated R...This is what im talking about. Hopefully there will be no over done CGI or wire work fight scenes.