A day or two ago I noticed this was now on Netflix. As I liked the Transporter movies (1 and 3 more than 2) I tried watching the series to see if it was worthwhile. I stopped after less than two episodes.
Why?
First, the series completely failed to capture the feel of the movies. It started even with their imitation of the classic original Transporter opening scene. In the series, it is escaped prisoners instead of bank robbers. Okay. But it goes off the rails as the series "Frank" starts talking about suits when three men instead of two get in - the movie Frank (to me the real one) is very exacting in that he computed fuel and auto performance based on the exact weight of two men.
This may sound nitpicky, but it keeps happening. The preciseness of Frank Martin as portrayed by Jason Statham was crucial to the feel of the films. It showed him as not just a generic "action hero" but as a very intelligent, very meticulous operator. Not in the series. He is basically "generic action man v2.03". How could they get something as basic as the character of Frank Martin so totally wrong?
Next, Franks "rules" are barely mentioned and broken as if they are trivia instead of the centerpiece of why he is the best in the business. Again how?
And third, this series treats women almost as bad as SGU. The female characters seem to exist only to shed their clothes and hop into bed with Frank despite barely knowing him. The only reason I don't say "as bad as SGU" is because they don't have the sexstones in this show.
From what I understand the show got a second season but apparently a third one is very much in question. Hopefully it gets cancelled.
Why?
First, the series completely failed to capture the feel of the movies. It started even with their imitation of the classic original Transporter opening scene. In the series, it is escaped prisoners instead of bank robbers. Okay. But it goes off the rails as the series "Frank" starts talking about suits when three men instead of two get in - the movie Frank (to me the real one) is very exacting in that he computed fuel and auto performance based on the exact weight of two men.
This may sound nitpicky, but it keeps happening. The preciseness of Frank Martin as portrayed by Jason Statham was crucial to the feel of the films. It showed him as not just a generic "action hero" but as a very intelligent, very meticulous operator. Not in the series. He is basically "generic action man v2.03". How could they get something as basic as the character of Frank Martin so totally wrong?
Next, Franks "rules" are barely mentioned and broken as if they are trivia instead of the centerpiece of why he is the best in the business. Again how?
And third, this series treats women almost as bad as SGU. The female characters seem to exist only to shed their clothes and hop into bed with Frank despite barely knowing him. The only reason I don't say "as bad as SGU" is because they don't have the sexstones in this show.
From what I understand the show got a second season but apparently a third one is very much in question. Hopefully it gets cancelled.
