Summary
The Japanese defence minister arrives in Marseilles to learn how the French police intend
to cope with the growing problem of organised crime. During a demonstration of an
apparently invincible car, the Japanese minister is kidnapped by Japanese terrorists,
along with the girlfriend of the hapless cop Émilien. Having made an impression
with his car driving skills, Daniel Morales is recruited by his prospective father-in-law,
Général Bertineau, to rescue the kidnap victims and foil a bold assassination
attempt.
Review
After the surprising tear-away success of the all-action comedy Taxi
in 1998, it was inevitable that Luc Besson would trot out a sequel in the same
vein. That film, imaginatively named Taxi 2, proved to be the biggest box
office success in France in 2000 (attracting nearly 10.5 million spectators).
What the film does show, more than anything, is that, if they have a mind to, French film
production companies are able to compete with big budget Hollywood action films.
From start to finish, the film is a high-octane, adrenaline-pumping race against time,
as the film struggles to compress as many car chases, action stunts and quick-fire comic
situations into the shortest possible time, whist still just about managing to hang on
to something resembling a plot.
Unfortunately, that is really all there is to the film. It is fast, it is funny,
but it is also frustratingly unsatisfying and ultimately empty. The charm of the
first Taxi film was mainly in the interaction between the principal characters,
especially the repartee between Daniel and Émilien. The sequel, Taxi 2
, has nothing at all to offer in the way of characterisation, and if anything the
characters are either irritatingly complacent or else little more than two-dimensional
stereotypes. The plot is equally disappointing, managing to be even thinner than
Taxi (which is something of an achievement) and is not remotely credible - although
some of the satirical elements (for example, France laughingly promoting herself as a
world leader in anti-terrorist measures) do ring true. Taxi 2 may have been
a staggering popular success, but it is far from being a great film.
© James Travers 2002
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