The Transporter 2

Louis Leterrier, who directed this year’s decent Jet Li action-thriller Unleashed, takes a step backward with this goofy sequel. Jason Statham is Frank Martin, a child’s chauffeur (for reasons not well-explained) who is also some sort of soldier and protector. When the child is kidnapped, Frank springs into action, performing some of the more outrageous sequences to hit the screen this year. The effect is supposed to be thrilling, but the banality of some of the set pieces is unintentionally funny. Some of the special effects (especially a plane crash sequence) are dreadful, and the acting (especially by a scenery-chewing Matthew Modine) is terrible. What makes the movie nearly worth watching is Statham, who makes for a decent action hero. He’s an effective central star, but that won’t keep you from laughing at the film’s bombastic approach.