Luc Besson's European movie factory cranks out another installment!
You're watching Beyond The Trailer's review of The Transporter Refueled!
With his one-two punch of La Femme Nikita and The Professional back in 1990s, Luc Besson
is one of the few European filmmakers - in fact, arguably the only European filmmaker
- to reach American mainstream audiences while still making his movies across the pond.
In other words, he did NOT come to Hollywood.
Instead, Besson continues to operate out of his native France, with plenty of name talent
willing to come to him - plus he also discovers, and rediscovers, his fare share of talent
as well.
He discovered Milla Jovovich with The Fifth Element in 1997 and Jason Statham with The
Transporter in 2002.
He revitalized Liam Neeson's career with Taken in 2009, and enabled Scarlet Johansson to
realize her potential as an action star with Lucy last year.
Now, sure, sometimes his movies don't connect with audiences, like Colombiana, Lockout or
3 Days to Kill, but thanks to the overall strength of his production company EuropaCorp's
catalogue, he's making films far more frequently than he was pre Taken.
Well, more accurately, moviegoers are taking notice of his films far more frequently, as
Besson has always been quite prolific.
But first with Big Game earlier this year, and now with The Transporter Refueled, EuropaCorp
is releasing its films stateside themselves rather than partnering with a Hollywood studio.
Big Game wasn't so big at the box office, but EuropaCorp should have an easier time
launching its fourth Transporter film as it's an established franchise and has the entire
Labor Day weekend all to itself.
And yes, as you've surely noticed, that's not Jason Statham behind the wheel, and it's
not Nicholas Hoult either.
Instead it's fellow Brit Ed Skrein, the rapper turned actor who first turned heads on Game
of Thrones - so much so that it helped him land this role, for which he walked away from
Game of Thrones, forcing the show to recast.
Who walks away from Game of Thrones?!
While it might seem like a foolish decision, Skrein not only stars here but also plays
the main villain in one of the hottest movies of 2016 - Deadpool.
So while Skrein is definitely making a big splash in Hollywood, let's see if it's all
thanks to his agent - or if he's the real deal.