The Transporter 2002

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The best movie Steven Seagal never made. Read more

Detroit Free Press: If you overlook the rock-stupid story line and one-dimensional characters, The Transporter will take you on the white-knuckle ride it promises. Read more

Miami Herald: The Transporter screams its devotion to style over substance with slick action sequences, fast cars and breathtaking stunts. Every scene is designed to feature the next big fight, chase or explosion. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: The story is virtually impossible to follow here, but there's a certain style and wit to the dialogue. Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Read more

Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune: Aside from a few dynamic fights and Statham's square-jawed charisma, the film is a collection of action sequences in search of a plot. Read more

Dave Kehr, New York Times: Will undoubtedly play well in European markets, where Mr. Besson is a brand name, and in Asia, where Ms. Shu is an institution, but American audiences will probably find it familiar and insufficiently cathartic. Read more

Hank Sartin, Chicago Reader: Jason Statham uses his smoldering charisma to great effect. Read more

Mark Rahner, Seattle Times: There's some outrageously creative action in The Transporter ... [b]ut by the time Frank parachutes down onto a moving truck, it's just another cartoon with an unstoppable superman. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The chases and explosions get a little (well, more than a little) ludicrous, but the cool premise is still very cool. Read more

Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times: This month's Luc Besson movie plays a lot like last month's -- only better. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: It's junk with a capital J. The sooner you realize that, the more quickly you can settle down to enjoying it. Read more

Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly: It's like the worst movie Jean-Claude Van Damme never made. Read more

Ray Conlogue, Globe and Mail: This is a film where there isn't the slightest doubt about the dramatic outcome. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: Alas, veteran action director Corey Yuen is going through the motions. Read more

John Patterson, L.A. Weekly: Immensely exciting and funny -- and it even has a Proust joke. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's high rent Steven Segal -- fights, explosions, and more fights, but with a flair. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Too much action brings the movie to a dead standstill. Why don't directors understand that? Why don't they know that wall-to-wall action makes a movie less interesting -- less like drama, more like a repetitive video game? Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: There's plenty to like here, especially for connoisseurs of the action genre. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Routine and rather silly. Read more

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Quite the ride, if you can stand the sight of valuable cars at risk. Read more

Time Out: The acting might be shoddy, the plot nonsense and the dialogue clunky, but the fighting is exquisitely done. Inventive, athletic, fun, stylish and tight, it's everything the rest of the film isn't. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: While the ensemble player who gained notice in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch has the bod, he's unlikely to become a household name on the basis of his first starring vehicle. Read more

Justine Elias, Village Voice: Kills time between car chases and martial-arts bouts with random scuba-diving footage apparently culled from producer-co-writer Luc Besson's The Big Blue. Read more