| The Transporter Refueled | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Camille Delamarre |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Characters by
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Christophe Collette |
| Edited by | Julien Rey |
| Music by | Alexandre Azaria |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 96 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $22 million[2] |
| Box office | $72.6 million[3] |
The Transporter Refueled (French:Le Transporteur: Héritage; also known asTransporter 4) is a 2015action thriller film directed byCamille Delamarre and written by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, andLuc Besson. It serves as areboot and the fourth film in theTransporter franchise. It starsEd Skrein asFrank Martin, alongsideRay Stevenson,Loan Chabanol,Gabriella Wright, Tatjana Pajković,Yu Wenxia, Radivoje Bukvić,Lenn Kudrjawizki, Anatole Taubman, andNoémie Lenoir. In the film, Frank finds himself caught up in a bank heist and kidnapping plot orchestrated by Anna (Chabanol).
A fourthTransporter film was planned to feature original franchise starJason Statham, who was offered a three film deal withEuropaCorp to produce additional installments. After negotiations with Statham fell through, Skrein was hired and the franchise was rebooted, featuring no returning cast members from the first three films.Principal photography took place inParis.
The Transporter Refueled was theatrically released on 4 September 2015 in the United States and in France five days later, by EuropaCorp; it is the firstTransporter film primarily distributed by EuropaCorp. The film received negative reviews from critics and grossed $72.6 million worldwide.
In 1995,Russian criminal mobster Arkady Karasov and his associates Leo Imasov and Yuri took over rival gangs' sex trafficking business at theFrench Riviera. One of the prostitutes is a young Anna and Maïssa. Karasov takes an interest in taking Maïssa with him.
Fifteen years later, Anna calls someone to implement their plan to bring down Karasov's criminal enterprise. Formerspecial forces operative Frank Martin is a skilled chauffeur who transports classified packages and people for questionable clients in hisAudi S8. Frank picks up Frank Martin Sr., a retiredMI6 agent and Frank Jr.'s father.
Later that night, at theCarlton Cannes Hotel, Anna and Qiao kill the accountant in charge of Karasov's money and place a dead prostitute's body in the hotel room before escaping. At Frank Jr.'s residence, during a dinner with his father, Anna calls Frank Jr. for a "transporter", and asks him to meet her at theHotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes. The next morning, Karasov and his lady, Maïssa, discover that his accountant has been killed, and a dead prostitute is found wearing a necklace that belonged to his group.
Frank Jr. meets Anna, who tells him to pick her up at the Mediterranean Bank inMonte Carlo, and he agrees. He arrives at the bank and encounters three women, including Qiao and Maria. Suspicious, Frank asks the women to exit the car, but they threaten him with a gun and a live video of his father being held at gunpoint to compel Frank Jr. to cooperate. Frank Jr. successfully evades the police, drives the women to a safe house, and meets with Gina and his father. Anna discloses that his father was poisoned and will die if Frank Jr. follows their instructions since they possess the antidote. Frank accepts reluctantly, and Anna informs him that they will steal anesthetic gas. He discovers that Anna and the women used to be prostitutes for Karasov, with whom he has a shared work history. Meanwhile, Karasov and Maïssa learn that the women have stolen a logbook containing a list of Karasov’s associates, leading Karasov to realize that Frank Jr. is involved.
Frank takes Gina, Qiao, and Anna to Imasov's rave club. They release gas to incapacitate everyone, including Imasov, and collect his fingerprints to access his bank account, transferring money to Anna's account. Frank Sr. and Maria board Yuri's plane to secure his fingerprints before Frank Jr. picks them up. Maria is shot by Yuri’s bodyguard, so they rush her back to the safehouse. Anna reveals the poison was a ruse, allowing Frank Jr. and Sr. to leave after the job's done.
Karasov’s associates questioned him about his past with Frank Jr. and the girls from his group. In response, Karasov kidnaps Frank Sr. and calls Frank Jr., threatening to kill his father unless he brings the girls to his yacht. Although Frank Jr. returns to the girls, Gina leaves the group. Frank Jr. then takes the women to Karasov's yacht, where Yuri and Imasov confront Karasov, accusing him of stealing their money. Anna alleges that Karasov had the girls steal their money on his behalf.
Karasov shows his account to his associates, but Gina manages to sneak aboard the yacht and transfer all the stolen money into his account. After being double-crossed, a shootout erupts in which Qiao and Maria are killed in the crossfire. Gina retrieves the money before Maïssa shoots her. Just as Maïssa is about to take the money back, Gina strangles her before succumbing to her wound. Frank Jr. confronts Karasov on a cliffside. Anna intervenes, shoots Karasov, and sends his body plummeting into the ocean. Anna aims her gun at Frank Jr. but hesitates to shoot. Frank Jr. deduces that Anna had Frank Sr. kidnapped so that he would bring girls to the boat. He convinces Anna to abandon her life of revenge, and she drives away. One month later, Anna distributes the stolen money to the families of her friends and to Frank Jr. and Sr.
At the2013 Cannes Film Festival, a new trilogy was announced withEuropaCorp andChina'sFundamental Films co-producing and distributing the titles.[4][5] The films will likely be budgeted between €25 million and €30 million each and at least one will be shot in China.[6]Luc Besson will co-finance, distribute, produce and write all the films.[7] The franchise was rebooted after negotiations withJason Statham fell through.
EuropaCorp wanted Statham to sign a three contract deal, without revealing the script first. English actorEd Skrein replaced Statham asFrank Martin in the fourth installment of the series.[8] In March 2015, the title was changed fromThe Transporter Legacy toThe Transporter Refueled.
Principal photography of the film began on 1 August 2014, inParis,France.[9][10][11][12]
The film was previously set to be released on 6 March 2015.[9] On 5 November 2014,EuropaCorp moved the film for a 19 June 2015 release.[13] On 1 April 2015, EuropaCorp again moved the film back to a 4 September 2015.[14]
The Transporter Refueled grossed $16 million in the United States and Canada, and $56.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $72.6 million.[3] Its largest territory was China withUS$18.3 million.[15]
In its opening weekend in North America, the film grossed $7.4 million, finishing 4th at the box office. It was also 4th on its opening weekend in China, grossing CN¥69.8 million.[16]
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The Transporter Refueled has received negative reviews from critics. OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 104 reviews, with an average rating of 3.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Transporter Refueled has little to offer beyond a handful of decent action sequences, leaving this reboot's title feeling more like wishful thinking than a restatement of purpose."[17] OnMetacritic the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[18] Audiences polled byCinemaScore, gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
IGN awarded it a score of 7.0 out of 10, saying, "The shadow of Jason Statham loomed large over this reboot, but Ed Skrein nails it, meaning the franchise is in safe hands."[20]
Transporter Refueled earned a B- CinemaScore on par with the third installment
