When the original Transporter movie came out I was a little skeptical about going to see it. From the trailer it looked like a "leave your brain at the door" cheesy action flick with Jason Statham. Since it was a film produced by Luc Besson though I figured I'd give it a shot and see what my impressions were. I wasn't completely blown away but there was enough charm, wit, and action tossed in to make it an enjoyable popcorn movie. Unfortunately I can't say any of those things about the sequel.

The first Transporter really didn't need to have a follow-up but I guess the picture made enough money that someone figured "what the hell". In so many ways The Transporter 2 is a shadow of its predecessor but there are two key points that really killed my enjoyment: the weak plot and the cartoon-like action.

The original movie had a story that worked to a certain extent and a viable support character. Statham's character (Frank Martin) made a decent living for himself in France taking on odd transporting jobs for various forms of criminal activity. He took a mysterious package on one assignment and broke one of his rules about looking at the contents. Discovering an Asian cutie in his trunk Frank then gets involved in something that requires him to use his training as a Special Forces agent and kick some butt. It wasn't rocket science to be sure.

This time around though Frank's job as a transporter hardly even comes into play. He's made the big move from France to Florida and is currently working as a driver for some U.S. politician. The only thing is instead of toting the dignitary around he provides transportation for his son. Frank's role as black-tie school bus driver gets even more inconvenient when the boy's (MILF) mother asks for him to drive the kid to the doctor's office.

We all hated going to the doctor when we were children; especially because of the needles that were involved. Well, at this particular office the staff has been killed and supplemented by terrorists of some kind. Their goal is to inject the child with a deadly virus so that he infects his father and thus the rest of congress, or something like that. To be honest this loose thread only serves as a reason to make Frank fight against some Frederick's of Hollywood fashion model who has a penchant for using semi-automatic weapons.

The train wreck of a story continues to degrade as the bad guys actually infect the boy and his parents. This all leads to a series of pointless action sequences as Frank rushes for a cure. The ending does not justify the means and the plot constantly unravels to the point that it gets more ridiculous with each passing minute. I suppose it wouldn't have been that bad though if the action was more believable.

I understand that Frank Martin is supposed to be some super ex-special forces soldier and that he's highly training in martial arts and all that. Apparently, Transporter 2 is the one that forgot. The film infuses Frank with super human abilities that would make Spider-Man proud. From flat-out dodging bullets to leaping from a fifth story window into the roof of a car, Frank is a veritable freight train. In fact the only blood that he gets covered with through the course of the film is the other guy's.

Scenes such as an intense battle with a fire hose and flying curtain showdown with the lingerie model are fun to watch but ultimately wind up too ridiculous to be worthwhile. Ironically it only gets sillier when Frank drives a car off a roof and lands perfectly in an adjacent building. Even goofier than that is when he perfectly flips his car over and knocks a bomb off the bottom of his car by hitting a 3 inch target. Now, I know that the first movie didn't exactly have the most believable action sequences but they at least were (mostly) grounded with some level of reality; this time around that's not the case.

There are a few saving graces that keep Transporter 2 worth watching. Statham performs brilliantly as Frank Martin once again and most every scene is better just with his presence. Much of the action, as silly as it is, does get pretty intense and there are some nice fight scenes tossed in that would make Jackie Chan proud. Also despite the fact that the plot is abysmal the script allows for quite a bit of humor and heart in between. In the end I'm left with no real lasting impression from the film. It's entertaining in an immature and frivolous way but anyone looking for something with depth is going to be left out in the dark.

The Transporter 2 is presented in Blu-ray with a 25GB disc and MPEG 2 output at 18 MBPS. The picture comes through with full 1080p HD resolution and an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. For the most part the image quality in Transporter 2 is very solid with a crisp transfer and clean visuals. There are few moments where grain is noticeable and I did not notice flaw of any other kind.

That all being said there is something about this film that just doesn't look right. It doesn't have anything to do with this transfer in particular; instead with the saturation of the picture. The contrast has been kicked up a notch and the filter used during filming gives everything a washed out appearance. It makes some scenes absolutely pop but at other points gives skin tones an odd orange hue. The effect also lessens the density of shadows and goes out of its way to make particular scenes pop. It worked but ultimately left with mixed impressions. Still, as far as the disc's transfer is concerned this is a very good presentation.

From the very moment The Transporter 2's credits scroll you know that you're in for one hell of a loud ride. The disc offers a English DTS HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio track as its primo choice and it never really lets you down. Each channel picks up the pieces of what's going on during each sequence. The rear channels get quite a work out during rights and driving segments while the front share in this but mostly offer dialogue. The spread is nice and the audio is very clean with a sharp presentation. Spanish and French get 5.1 Dolby Surround tracks as well and there are subtitles included for English and Spanish.

Disappointingly there is nothing on this Blu-ray for extra features apart from an original theatrical trailer. The first Transporter made it to Blu-ray with an audio commentary so it's kind of sad to see nothing here.

The Transporter 2 is without a doubt one of the most self-indulgent action films that I have seen in quite some time. The fight scenes are so over-the-top that they are ridiculous in just about every fashion and the plot doesn't help matters much. Despite these glaring flaws this movie still entertains for its "whopping" 87 minutes thanks to Statham's presence and a hip atmosphere. There are guiltier pleasures out there but this one at least deserves a rental if you're looking for something to watch while munching on some popcorn.

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