The Transporter
The Transporter film poster
Directed by	Corey Yuen
Produced by	Luc Besson Stephen Chasman
Written by	Luc Besson Robert Mark Kamen
Starring	Shu Qi Jason Statham Matt Schulze François Berléand
Music by	Stanley Clarke
Cinematography	Pierre Morel
Editing by	Nicolas Trembasiewicz
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	11 October 2002 (USA)
Running time	94 min.
Language	English
Budget	€20,900,000
Followed by	Transporter 2
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Transporter is an action/crime movie released in the United States on October 11, 2002. It was directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen. The Transporter stars Jason Statham as Frank Martin, who did most of his stunts in the movie. Actress Shu Qi plays Statham's love interest Lai Kwai. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 404 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (509 × 755 pixel, file size: 59 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. ... Corey Yuen Kwai (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a Hong Kong actor, film director and producer. ... Luc Besson [IPA: lyk bɛsɔ̃] (born March 18, 1959) is a French film director, writer and producer. ... Luc Besson [IPA: lyk bɛsɔ̃] (born March 18, 1959) is a French film director, writer and producer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // Shu Qi (Chinese: ; pinyin: Shū Qí; Wade-Giles: Shu Chi) (born April 16, 1976) is the stage name of a Taiwanese actress born Lin Li-hui (林立慧). Her stage name is occasionally romanized as Hsu Chi (Wade-Giles) or Shu Kei (Cantonese). ... Jason Statham (born on 12 September 1972, in Sydenham, Lewisham, London) is an English actor, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Revolver and Snatch. ... Matthew Schulze (born July 3, 1972 in St. ... François Berléand (born on 22 April, 1952, in Paris, France) is a French actor. ... Stanley Clarke (born 30 June 1951) is an American musician and composer known for his innovative and influential work on double bass and bass guitar as well as his numerous film and television scores. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the six major American film studios. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2002. ... Louis Leterrier is a Hollywood movie director whose most notable films are The Transporter, starring Jason Statham, and Danny the Dog, a thriller starring Jet Li and Morgan Freeman. ... Corey Yuen Kwai (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a Hong Kong actor, film director and producer. ... Jason Statham (born on 12 September 1972, in Sydenham, Lewisham, London) is an English actor, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Revolver and Snatch. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // Shu Qi (Chinese: ; pinyin: Shū Qí; Wade-Giles: Shu Chi) (born April 16, 1976) is the stage name of a Taiwanese actress born Lin Li-hui (林立慧). Her stage name is occasionally romanized as Hsu Chi (Wade-Giles) or Shu Kei (Cantonese). ...

Plot

Ex-Special Forces soldier Frank Martin lives what seems to be a quiet life along the coast of Southern France, hiring himself out as a mercenary "transporter", who moves any goods from one place to another, without asking any questions. Special Forces (SF) or Special Operations Forces (SOF) are highly-trained military units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. ... This region consists of the southern part of France. ... A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national of a Party to the conflict and is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a...

Carrying out mysterious and sometimes dangerous tasks in his black BMW E38 735iL, Frank adheres to a strict set of rules, which he never breaks: 1999-2000 BMW 735iL The BMW E38 automobile platform was the basis for the 1994 through 2001 BMW 7 Series automobiles. ...

1. "Never change the deal".
2. "No names".
3. "Never open the package".

Frank's newest 'transport' seems no different to him than the countless ones that he has delivered in the past. He has been hired by an American known only as "Wall Street" to make a delivery. All begins well, but when Frank stops along route to change a tire, he notices his "package" is moving. Violating one of his own rules, Frank looks inside the bag, finding its contents to be a beautiful woman, bound and gagged with duct tape. Her name is Lai (Shu Qi), and her presence leads to an assassination attempt on Frank. For other meanings of the word gag, see gag (disambiguation). ... A piece of transparent duct tape, left, and of silver duct tape, right. ... // Shu Qi (Chinese: ; pinyin: Shū Qí; Wade-Giles: Shu Chi) (born April 16, 1976) is the stage name of a Taiwanese actress born Lin Li-hui (林立慧). Her stage name is occasionally romanized as Hsu Chi (Wade-Giles) or Shu Kei (Cantonese). ...

Frank's steadfast following of his other two rules—which make up his basic code of survival—quickly fall. Through his new companion, he uncovers a conspiracy of illegal people smuggling, led by Lai's own father. The film ends with Frank intercepting a shipping crate filled with migrants, and the subsequent death of Lai's father at the hands of his own daughter. People smuggling is a term which is used to describe the illegal and organised smuggling of people across international boundaries, usually for financial gain. ...

Shu Qi bound and gagged.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The car

In the movie, Jason Statham's character Frank Martin specifically identifies the car as a 1999 735iL. In the DVD commentary for the movie, however, Jason Statham indicates that the car was a one-off manual-transmission 1999 7-Series 750iL, with a V12 engine. At a stop Frank's BMW is destroyed by bad guys with a silver briefcase, that Wall Street had contracted for transport. Having returned to Wall Street's estate, Frank drives away with a Mercedes-Benz W140 as a compensation for his BMW. 2001 BMW 750iL The BMW 7-Series is a luxury saloon (sedan) made by BMW. It replaced the New Six models in 1977. ... For a complete overview of all S-Class models see Mercedes-Benz S-Class. ...

Cast

• Jason Statham as Frank Martin
• Shu Qi as Lai
• Matt Schulze as Darren 'Wall Street' Bettencourt
• François Berléand as Tarconi
• Ric Young as Mr. Kwai
• Doug Rand as Leader
• Didier Saint Melin as Boss

Jason Statham (born on 12 September 1972, in Sydenham, Lewisham, London) is an English actor, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Revolver and Snatch. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // Shu Qi (Chinese: ; pinyin: Shū Qí; Wade-Giles: Shu Chi) (born April 16, 1976) is the stage name of a Taiwanese actress born Lin Li-hui (林立慧). Her stage name is occasionally romanized as Hsu Chi (Wade-Giles) or Shu Kei (Cantonese). ... Matthew Schulze (born July 3, 1972 in St. ... François Berléand (born on 22 April, 1952, in Paris, France) is a French actor. ...

Miscellaneous

• It has been widely suggested that Frank is also a character in the 2004 film Collateral. In the opening sequence of Collateral, a transporter, played by Jason Statham, drops a briefcase for Vincent, a hitman.
• The inspiration for The Transporter is said to be BMW Films The Hire series which features various BMW vehicles being used in numerous situations, driven by a professional transporter played by Clive Owen.
• The movie's title and opening credits slowly materialize on the screen amidst a brilliant array of lights, an apparent inside joke referring to the transporters depicted in the various Star Trek television series and movies, which had a similar visual effect.
• Prior to the movie, Statham already had a background in martial arts which enabled him to perform his own fight sequences.
• Frank Martin's attire resembles the attire of Agent 47, if this is intentional or not is unknown

Collateral is a 2004 Academy Award-nominated Dreamworks SKG/Paramount Pictures American drama/thriller/crime film directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie, with un-credited rewrites by Mann and Frank Darabont. ... Vincent Vincent is a fictional character, played by Tom Cruise, in Michael Manns 2004 film Collateral. ... The BMW film series The Hire was a series of eight short films (each about eight minutes long) produced for the Internet in the summers of 2001 and 2002. ... Clive Owen (born October 3, 1964) is a Golden Globe and BAFTA winning critically acclaimed English actor, now a regular performer in Hollywood and independent American films. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. ... 47 with his WA2000 Sniper Rifle. ...

See also

• Transporter 2

External links

• The Transporter at the Internet Movie Database
• The Transporter at Rotten Tomatoes
• Full plot description