After three exciting films driver Frank Martin is back; this time in a television series. In this, the opening episode, Frank is hired to take a device that improves the efficiency of any car from Nice to Paris; it is the only one of the device and its inventor has already been killed by people who are determined that it will never go into production. He will be accompanied by Trina, the daughter of the man whose company made the device. As Frank and Trina head north is soon becomes apparent that their car is being tracked by killers intent on stopping them reaching Paris. Frank tries to lose them but it won't be easy; there will be many car chases, both on fast main roads and in the narrow lanes of French towns; as well as fights where Frank must confront them outside his car. All the action leads to a gripping confrontation on a bridge where Frank's car is left balancing on the edge as the bad guys close in for the kill.
The first thing to note about this series is the fact that Frank Martin is no longer played by Jason Statham, instead he is played by Chris Vance. Thankfully Vance makes no attempt to imitate Statham's performance so it is possible to get over the change. The story is pretty much the same as that in the films; Frank must drive somewhere with a beautiful woman while bad guys try to stop him. This doesn't matter though as 'The Transporter' was never about deep plots with convoluted twists; it is about exciting car chases, impressive fights and Frank travelling with a beautiful woman and this story delivers in all regards. Chris Vance is a decent enough replacement in the role of Frank and I'm sure he'll seem even better in future episodes once I'm fully used to the fact that he isn't Jason Statham. The car chases are really good; certainly much better than one would expect in a television show. The fights are also impressive even if they are on a smaller scale to those seen in the films. As well as some impressive action there is some fairly tongue in cheek humour. There is also a small amount of swearing and nudity although I doubt it will bother anybody wanting to watch a show like this. Overall I'd say this was a great introduction to the show; I hope future episodes are as good I'll definitely continue watching.
The first thing to note about this series is the fact that Frank Martin is no longer played by Jason Statham, instead he is played by Chris Vance. Thankfully Vance makes no attempt to imitate Statham's performance so it is possible to get over the change. The story is pretty much the same as that in the films; Frank must drive somewhere with a beautiful woman while bad guys try to stop him. This doesn't matter though as 'The Transporter' was never about deep plots with convoluted twists; it is about exciting car chases, impressive fights and Frank travelling with a beautiful woman and this story delivers in all regards. Chris Vance is a decent enough replacement in the role of Frank and I'm sure he'll seem even better in future episodes once I'm fully used to the fact that he isn't Jason Statham. The car chases are really good; certainly much better than one would expect in a television show. The fights are also impressive even if they are on a smaller scale to those seen in the films. As well as some impressive action there is some fairly tongue in cheek humour. There is also a small amount of swearing and nudity although I doubt it will bother anybody wanting to watch a show like this. Overall I'd say this was a great introduction to the show; I hope future episodes are as good I'll definitely continue watching.