Transporter 2
An Interview With Jason Statham

Jason Statham is the next action star. And in his latest film, The Transporter 2, he takes it to a higher level!

Latinoreview.com had a chance to speak to Jason about playing the mercenary again. He talked about his martial arts background and reuniting with the director of the first film, Corey Yuen:

Jason Statham: “It’s good to have experience in martial arts, and it definitely helps Corey’s job, he’s one of my favorite choreographers and action directors; the more experience you have, the easier time he’s going to have.”

In one scene in the movie, Jason uses a number of props, as well as some hand to hand combat, to fight off the enemy. But was it an homage to Jackie Chan:

Jason Statham: “It’s not a conscious thing, but great if it did! Jackie Chan is an incredible martial artist and I love his movies, same with Jet Li. But it’s Corey who designs the choreography of the fights so unless he was subliminally trying to do that, I don’t know.”

The Transporter doesn’t have as many brutal fights as it could, but as Jason says, it isn’t really needed:

Jason Statham: “My favorite action movies are Bruce Lee movies and they’re always an R rated kind of movie, it’s just a bit more graphic. I think if violence is going to be depicted in a movie, than show it how it should be, but that sometimes doesn’t necessarily translate to a movie like The Transporter because the tone of the movie isn’t like something Martin Scorsese would do in Casino where he puts a guys head in a vice. We’re not trying to create gratuitous violence, but if there’s going to be some violence, I’d like to see it fully through. Like in this movie, a guy tries to kick me and his foot comes through a bar and I try to break and crack his leg, we can’t show that cause it won’t make the ratings. It’s a shame to eliminate the kids from coming to see it because there’s some great fun stuff in it too not to be taken seriously like some great car chases and one on a jet ski. But just to leave in those realistic harsh moments would be a shame to do that and I came around to that thought, eventually.”

So what about taking the role of Frank Martin seriously:

Jason Statham: “You want to turn up and do the right job, you’re an actor and you’re here to do a job, so yeah, you take it seriously. This movie isn’t to be taken seriously, it’s not Passion of the Christ; it’s about fun, it’s an end of the summer movie, a bit of action, get your popcorn out and enjoy yourself it’s entertainment.”

Newcomer Katie Nauta plays one of Frank’s biggest nemesis’ so did Jason have to put away his chivalry when fighting a girl:

Jason Statham: “I don’t particularly like to fight women, but she did play a rather tough, little chick. She was beatin’ me up, so it was more to protect myself than a fighting routine. But she picked it up really quickly; this is her first time experiencing martial arts.”

After two movies, you’d think Jason would adapt to his character as Frank Martin, but apparently, he’s not much like him at all:

Jason Statham: “I like to believe I’m Frank Martin, and he’s a lot different to me. I like the style of him, created by Luc Besson. He’s a bit more quiet and I like to have a bit more fun.”

The Transporter 2 drives into theaters September 2nd; it’s rated PG-13. It’s filled with action, suspense, and muchas calientes chicas! Buckle up for 90 minutes of fun!