If you've seen the first two Transformers movies, you've seen this one as well.

It's swell, I say with a yell, but it's nothing new. After a while the intensity turns dull, because it's intense all the time, the suspense never has time to build up, the effect are always amazing. There's so much detail you stop paying attention to it. So much speed you get used to it, like driving at 200 km/h and then slowing down to 120.

The movie in itself isn't bad, but if you eat enough of something you'll lose taste. The plot is full of cliches, the actors all picked by appearance or racial background, the scenes all viewed from the optimal angles. So what am I really trying to say? I don't know, this sequel just didn't captivate me at all. The first Transformers was great, the second was just as good; they should have left it at that.

 rated 3/5: not bad

A full decade has passed since the filming of the first movie, and I guess that goes to show the first movie didn't gain the kind of recognition it should have gained, but that someone watched through it and thought "Hey, this is pretty good!" and decided to give it another shot and make a sequel. Though they added all the Hollywood elements missing in the prequel they didn't manage to make it better. Read on...

I can't believe I missed this movie earlier! It's not just a movie either, it's a whole trilogy. Not that it's that amazing a trilogy, there's nothing that makes it stand out above the rest, and that's probably the reason why I've never heard about it earlier. It's good action though, and it reminds me of the Rambo series, from the same decade too. I guess all movies can't make the headlights, some have to stay in the shadows, and this seems to be the movie in the shade this time around. Read on...

This is the final movie in the Taxi series before Luc Besson went to Hollywood and started making English movies instead. The movie with the same name with a different cast of characters is pretty much the whole series put together in one more commercial piece of regular action comedy. Read on...

I wonder if the year and the numeral of the movie were planned out or if it's just a coincidence?

Anyway, for car upgrades this time think snow, for plot think police inspector Gilbert being seduced by a reporter, both Daniel's & Emilien's girls pregnant, a gang dressed as Santa Clauses robbing banks and as always a ton of light-hearted comedy mixed with people who constantly make fools out of themselves... and a lot of driving. I can't say this movie is better than the two previous, but it sure isn't worse, it delivers what you expect it to. Car chases, comedy, drama, a funky hiphoppish soundtrack as always, and a great plot.

A noticeable addition to this movie is the intro, a twisted parody of the James Bond movies, pretty interesting. Also notable is Sylvester Stallone making a guest appearance at the start of the movie, as a passenger, a sequence you don't want to miss. ;)

As always Besson manages to film everything from the right angles, at the right speed, patch everything together at the right pace, and make all the characters seem down to earth and personal (though obviously a bit exaggerated). Another thing he manages to do is make fun of France, even though it's a French movie, without making the French mad about it. I'd say that last point is the most admirable feat.

Another recommended movie!

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

Read on...

Here's a sequel that beats the original many times over.

There are more car crashes, more crazy stunts, more humorous accidents/events... more everything except for the love/drama, of which there is a little less than in the first.

So, the plot in this movie: The Japanese minister is in France to check out a new armored car prototype (of course inspector Gilbert is the one showing the car, and constantly making a fool out of himself) and the minister gets kidnapped. Daniel somehow winds up in the middle of the mixture, along with his police buddy Emilien, and things get crazy.

Since the gang behind the kidnapping is Japanese there's a lot of flips, a lot of cartwheels, parkour-style building climbing flipping tripping running, good fights (always light, no blood, no brutality) and of course, as the name states, there's a lot of cars. More than in the last one. It is easy to assume the first movie was a hit since they 1) made a sequel and 2) included way more vehicles being creatively broken in this movie than in the prequel.
If you liked the first one, you'll like this.

Also, Daniel has installed some new creative adjustments to his Taxi (to make it fly), it turns out his girlfriend's dad is an army general, and in the end they all... oh wait, no spoilers. ;)

To sum it up, it's a great movie. Recommended!

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

Read on...