Frank has relocated from the French Mediterranean to Miami, Florida, where as a favor to a friend, Frank is driving for the wealthy Billings family. There’s very little that can surprise The Transporter, but young Jack Billings has done just that; Frank has unexpectedly bonded with Jack, age 6, whom he drives to and from school. But when Jack is kidnapped, Frank must use his battle-tested combat skills to retrieve the boy and thwart the kidnappers’ master plan to release a virus that will kill anyone with whom it comes in contact.
When 20th Centiry Fox released “The Transporter” in October 2002, the film became a worldwide theatrical hit. Produced and co-written by acclaimed filmmaker Luc Besson, “The Transporter” became an even greater success on DVD. At the same time, the picture launched Jason Statham as Hollywood’s newest action star, with Frank Martin becoming Statham’s signature role.
Says Statham: “Everywhere I went, people would tell me how much they loved `The Transporter’ and the character of Frank Martin. The Transporter is an especially important role for me because it’s influenced my career more than any film I’ve done.”
According to TRANSPORTER 2 director Louis Leterrier, who was Artistic Director on “The Transporter,” the original film’s appeal centered on Statham’s portrayal of the title role. “Jason really brought out not only the character’s amazing physicality, but Frank’s humanity, as well,” says Leterrier. “Jason plays Frank as a reluctant warrior. Frank wants to stop doing shady jobs; he craves an ordinary life. But fate likes to play tricks on Frank, and in the new film, he has to take on another `worst-case’ situation.”
Robert Mark Kamen, who authored both “Transporter” films with Luc Besson, agrees that much of the films’ appeal rests on Statham’s approach to playing the iconic figure. “Jason has humanity and decency; he makes both traits come alive in Frank Martin, even though Frank is as tough as they come.”
With “The Transporter’s” global success and the emergence of Statham as a movie action star, a follow-up film was not unexpected. Luc Besson envisioned TRANSPORTER 2 as being a movie event surpassing the original in scale and emotion.
Despite the success of “The Transporter,” and the filmmakers’ eagerness to reunite for a second film, TRANSPORTER 2 was not easy to put together. Statham had become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actors; director Louis Leterrier, who had completed “Unleashed,” starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins, produced by Besson, was looking at other projects, and Martial Arts Choreographer Cory Yuen (who directed “The Transporter”) was working on several films.
Fortunately, the schedules of these key players opened up enough to allow their participation in TRANSPORTER 2. As Besson had conceived the project, TRANSPORTER 2 would up the stakes in action, drama and characterization – starting with The Transporter himself. “Frank has evolved from the time of the first film” says Statham. “There’s a lot more at stake, emotionally, for Frank.”
Statham enjoyed the mix of the character’s softer and tougher sides. “One day I’d being playing a tender, emotional scene opposite Amber Valletta [who plays the young kidnap victim’s mother]; the next day, I’d be taking on a team of international thugs in a massive fight scene. It was never boring.”
Like its predecessor, TRANSPORTER 2 features displays of Jason Statham’s impressive athleticism, honed by years of training in boxing, kickboxing and scuba diving. Statham’s martial arts skills and diving experience both came in handy for the film’s climactic set piece, involving a jet that has crash landed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Statham, who eschewed the use of a stunt man for even the film’s most intense action scenes, reveled in the character’s physicality. A special treat for the actor was getting reacquainted with the high-speed driving skills he acquired while making “The Transporter.” “Driving that high-speed car was a real rush,” says Statham, who in TRANSPORTER 2 is behind the wheel of a black Audi A8. “But I’ll admit that training for and performing the stunts was easier the second time around. This time, I knew what I was in for!”
As he did in the first film, Statham worked with Cory Yuen’s hand-picked team of fighting and action choreographers. “Cory knows Jason’s potential and how to push his physical limits,” says director Louis Leterrier, who worked seamlessly with Yuen on both “Transporter” pictures. “I provided Cory wih the entry and exit points for the action, and he filled in everything in between. Cory and his team tell a story through the action.”
Upping the emotional stakes in TRANSPORTER 2 is Frank’s interaction with young Jack Billings (newcomer Hunter Clary). “Frank is such a disconnected character, we thought it would be fun to have him drive for a youngster,” says Robert Mark Kamen. “Frank has no real experiences with children. Jason’s scenes with Hunter are really interesting, because Frank treats the boy like a grownup – that’s all he knows how to do!”
Besson and Leterrier surrounded Statham with a talented ensemble. Amber Valletta, who played an heiress who falls for a portly accountant in “Hitch,” portrays Audrey Billings. Audrey’s vulnerability – her fears for her child’s safety, and her growing attraction to Frank – hide an inner strength that lets her challenge some actions of the federal agents investigating the youngster’s kidnapping.
Matthew Modine, whose long and distinguished career includes films by Stanley Kubrick (“Full Metal Jacket”), Oliver Stone (“Any Given Sunday”) and Robert Altman (“Short Cuts”), portrays Audrey’s estranged husband, Jefferson Billings. Billings’ newly-acquired position as drug czar, figures into his son’s kidnapping and the perpetrators’ strategic and lethal moves.
A counterpoint to Valletta’s maternal, yet fiery Audrey, is Kate Nauta’s villainous Lola, described in the script as “a homicidal maniac in a supermodel’s body.” Nauta, a real-life model, was discovered by Besson, who has long been known for his keen eye for talent (Natalie Portman, of Besson’s “The Professional,” is among his discoveries).
Joining Nauta in on-screen villainy is noted Italian actor Alessandro Gassman, son of the late, renowned actor Vittorio Gassman. Alessandro plays Gianni, the mastermind of a plot that begins with a child’s kidnapping and which ultimately threatens the lives of thousands. English actor Jason Flemyng, who was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” takes on the role of a Russian doctor, Dimitri, whose medical expertise is critical to Gianni’s plans.
These production notes provided by 20th Century Fox.
The Transporter 2
Starring: Jason Statham, Amber Valletta, Alessandro Gassman, Kate Nauta
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Screenplay by: Luc Besson
Release Date: September 2, 2005
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for for intense sequences of violent action, sexual content, partial nudity, language.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $43,095,856 (50.6%)
Foreign: $42,071,783 (49.4%)
Total: $85,167,639 (Worldwide)