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Transporter 2 [Blu-ray]
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$16.99
$5.87*
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| Part No: | B000JSI7BW |
| Manufacturer: | 20th Century Fox |
| MFG Part: | 024543401278 |
| Customer Rating: | 3.5 / 5.0 |
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IN VICTORIAN ERA LONDON, A TROUBLED CLAIRVOYANT POLICE DETECTIVE INVESTIGATES THE MURDERS BY JACK THE RIPPER.
Transporter 2 knows what its audience wants and--like its title character--it delivers. This is a movie that has not only a fight choreographer but also a car stunt choreographer; a movie in which a female assassin wears nothing but a bra and panties because, presumably, additional clothing would be too cumbersome; a movie in which crashing through a concrete wall in order to leap over a four-lane street will not even rumple the hood of the hero's car; a movie in which a drunken supermodel, after her advances are chastely and gently rebuffed by the hero, says "Thanks for the respect--that's what I needed most"; a movie, in short, for those who liked the first Transporter but found it too subdued and character-driven. Jason Statham ( The Italian Job) reprises his role as Frank Martin, a perhaps overly diligent chauffer who will break bones if his duty is impeded. The sheer glee with which Transporter 2 casts aside logic, probability, and the laws of physics is infectious. If the sequence in which Frank flips his car upside-down in order to detach the bomb attached to his undercarriage doesn't reduce you to intoxicated giggles, well...you're watching the wrong movie. Transporter 2 is utterly shameless, unstoppably ridiculous, and completely enjoyable. Also featuring Amber Valetta ( Hitch), Jason Flemyng ( Snatch), and Matthew Modine. --Bret Fetzer
| Buyers Beware : The Bluray is an edited version of the original movie | 2010-08-22 | 3 / 5 |
| Given the 178 reviews that are already here for this film, I believe there is no need for me to go into the details of this movie. Jason Statham has been around Hollywood long enough for most of us to know what he does; and he does it with style. There's nothing better than fantastical car chases and loads of butt kicking that are executed so perfectly. So after owning the Transporter 2 on DVD for a few years now, I was hoping to finally replace my DVD with a Bluray copy so I can watch this movie again in high definition.
Wow. I was totally shocked and disappointed to find out that this Bluray version (Cat NO. #2240129) of the movie has been edited. Not much, but If you have seen this movie more than once, you will notice the changes Fox has made to the movie.
Two scenes have been obviously altered, and they are between time marker 1:04:00 and 1:05:00 and time marker 1:07:00 and 1:09:00.
The first scene was the scene where the villianess Lola was waking up and getting out of bed and was practically nude, here the digital editors at Fox has somehow painted on portions of her body so cleverly it made the non-existent purple drape higher and thicker to cover her up.
The second scene was where Frank (Statham) was ending his fight with a bunch of thugs in the gerage, the part where he throws a pipe and one end of that pipe punches right through a thug was completely edited out of the scene.
Nice editing on both scenes, but I'm not particularly happy with them.
This movie is rated PG-13 on the back of this Bluray. Was the original movie rated R? Also, this is an action film. It is unlikely that adults who end up buying this movie will want to show this film to children. So, why the editing?
The HD picture transfer was fantastic, even for a 25GB single-layer disc. However, I can't say that I'm completely satisfied with this product due to the changes Fox has made to this film for this Bluray.
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| Transporter 2 (Blu-ray) | 2010-06-23 | 4 / 5 |
| Movie - 4.0
Continuing somewhat where we left off in the first Transporter movie, we get much of the same, albeit, in Miami instead of France. Frank Martin still looks cool in a suit, drives a really fast car, and kicks a lot of butt with his Cory Yuen-choreographed martial arts. But what gets more of a giggle from me in this one is the cheesy, over-the-top humor. On occasion they make references to the last movie with the Rules gimmick, Tarconi claiming to be "the cook," and the rest of Martin's other mannerisms/quirks. It sort of reminds of Shoot 'Em Up, only without the hard R-rated violence and raunchiness. With that said, I actually like the film a lot more than I used to. Having seen it 4 times now at the moment of this writing, the movie seems to have grown on me after deciding to keep the franchise in the B-movie category. It's somewhat serious, yet obviously silly, but still manages to keep me entertained for some reason. In particular, I really like the Chellini character. Alessandro Gassman reminds me a lot of Benicio Del Toro, and I think he does a really good job being a sly, Colombian, crooked-teeth antithesis to Statham. The film itself is really short, which makes a lot of the action progress very smoothly. I didn't care for the melodramatic reunion between the mom and her son, as it feels a bit awkward and dampening to the pace, and I think they used a little too much CG for some of the more implausible action sequences. But other than that, I still think the movie is entertaining enough for 80-ish minutes and serves as a nice action/thriller escapist fantasy to stimulate the imagination. Props also to the cinematography and some very nice camera angles for all the Kung-fu and stunt work.
Video - 4.0
Although using the same antiquated MPEG-2 encode, Transporter 2 looks very good compared to its predecessor. Colors are vibrant, maybe even a tad bit over-saturated in the flesh tones department, but worthy of mention despite the setback. Sharpness and textures are also much-improved revealing a great amount of detail in overall picture quality and giving the fore/background a lot of depth and dimensionality. Black levels are excellent and do a good job in delineation between shadows and clothing for the most part. Contrast never feels too bright or too low and serves the sleek photography well. As skeptical as I am of BDs that still use MPEG-2, this is actually very presentable and I'm glad it at least looks this good. Given that it's Fox and that the fan base of the Transporter franchise probably won't warrant a remaster in a more advanced codec anytime soon, this is probably as good as the movie will ever look outside of an import (so send me a message if you find a better encode for the first two movies).
Audio - 5.0
Thankfully, lossless audio is the same any way you present it, regardless of old or new video encodes. The DTS-HD 5.1 track for this film is reference-quality. Specifically, I love the way it zones out any kind of background noise/music and focuses solely on the hits, whacks, and crunches in the scene where Statham is fighting the goons and henchmen. The clanking of metal, the crack of the fire hose, the thud of bodies being smacked around and falling to the floor; it's a pretty exhilarating experience that fits the sound design admirably. And that's not even including how great the car chase and gunfire effects are. High and low ends are reproduced perfectly from the suppressed Glock 18Cs to the revving of the Audi A8L W12. Dialogue is clear through the center, while directionality and separation are handled aptly within the front and rear sides. Music is immersive, but never overpowering, and LFEs have a nice subtlety to them when they're around. Despite the cheese and suspension of disbelief required for this movie, don't be afraid to showcase this audio treat.
Extras - 0.5
Sadly, there's nothing but trailers.
Overall - 3.5
The movie is ridiculous in terms of highly-exaggerated action sequences and a very simplistic "narrative." But if you liked the first Transporter and don't mind a little more cheese on top of your cheese, then this movie just might manage to entertain you for about an hour and a half. The video's not quite as good as it could be, but the audio is fantastic. There aren't any extra features either, not that it would really benefit, though I am a sucker for good making-ofs. With the current SRP being cheaper than most DVDs, why not take a seat, buckle up, and give it a spin? |
| a turbocharged Transporter, make a big splash in Miami . . . | 2010-04-26 | 3 / 5 |
| Jason Statham returns as Frank Martin, in the high-octane action thriller, The Transporter 2 (2005). Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita), and Mark Robert Kamen, who co-wrote The Transporter (2002), also penned the screenplay for the sequel, and Louis Leterrier returns as solo director.
Martin has left France, and is now is Miami, behind the wheel of an Audi, hired by Audrey Billings (Amber Valletta), to chauffer her young son Jack. An unscrupulous gang, led by gentlemanly terrorist Gianni Chellini (Alessandro Gassman), plans to use the young boy in a grand scheme, to infect the attendees at a law enforcement conference. On a routine trip to the doctor, an attempt is made to kidnap Jack. Frank manages to save the boy, surviving an encounter with hitchick Lola (Kate Naulta), and her twin machine pistols.
The respite is only temporary, as Lola catches up with them, and with the police in pursuit, Frank gets a chance to demonstrate his mad driving skills, even flying from building to building. Chellini does get his hands on Jack, and infected with a 'recombinant retro-immune double-polymorphing efferent', returns him to his family, to spread the virus to his father Jeff (Matthew Modine), successfully executing his deadly plan.
The police, led by investigator Stappleton (Keith David), naturally believe they are dealing with a simple kidnapping. French Inspector Tarconi (Francois Berleand), has arrived in Miami for a vacation, but finds himself arrested. While in custody, he prepares some food, and also provides vital information that helps Frank discover what is really happening, setting the stage for the grand finale.
For what it aims to be, The Transporter 2 is quite well written, zipping along briskly, with the little pieces fitting together quite nicely, with few loose ends. Like CSI Miami, everyone seems to have an orange skin tone, even Tarconi, who unfortunately, does not get much of a chance to work on his tan, while on vacation. With Cory Yuen choreographing, the fight scenes have his stylized look, and quick cut editing. One featuring a fire hose, and another on a drydocked boat stand out, but the final battle with Chellini is a little anticlimactic. The Transporter 2 has the same kind of spectacular vehicular stunt work as the first film, but pushes things to a higher, and more absurd levels. With some totally outrageous stunts, and an over the top villain like Lola, the film has a flavor similar to a James Bond adventure, minus the romance.
The DVD release is a little short in the extras department. There are some deleted and extended scenes, and a short featurette, but no commentary track, or really substantial goodies. Fans of action films, or Jason Statham, should not be disappointed by this effort, which is more intense, and flows more smoothly than the original Transporter. |
| | Fantastic audio and video quality. Like Transporter 3 DVD I have, this is also a double sided DVD, which is, one side having wide screen version of the movie, and the Full screen version on the other side. So I'm going to give the same advice as I have given to the Transporter 3 DVD. Don't touch or scratch the surface of the DVD!! |
| Action movies are great. Perhaps a step further than needed? | 2010-03-07 | 4 / 5 |
| I like action movies as much as anyone I am sure. From time to time they go a step beyond what they should. This one there is a place or two where it is just that. Beyond the limits of physics, and reason.
However that being said, lots of great action, entertaining movie, some great stunt driving. You will not be overwhelmed by the acting but that being said there wasn't a performance so bad it made you question the casting director. Everyone was at least adequate. I am a huge fan of the star and like him, and will see his other stuff again and again but if you are looking for a fantastic movie, with a great plot this isn't it. If you want action this is your movie.
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