Name: Retro Film Review: Taxi (1998)
Item: Taxi
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

Taxi, 1998 French action comedy directed by Gerard Pires, was something of a mixed blessing for world's cinephiles. Its commercial success - confirmed by two sequels and upcoming Hollywood remake - has shown that French cinema can get rid of its arthouse image and break Hollywood's monopoly on genre blockbusters. On the other hand, it became apparent that Luc Besson, film's writer and producer, achieved that by simply extracting Hollywood formula.

The most refreshing thing about Taxi is its setting. France is one of the most centralised nations of Europe and, consequently, most of French films take place in Paris. On the other hand, there are many French cities with long, glorious history and whose citizens nurture their very own cultural identity. One of those cities is Mediterranean port of Marseilles where pizza delivery boy Daniel Morales (played by Sami Naceri) dreams of becoming great racetrack driver. The closest thing to that is a job of taxi driver, which Daniel takes not thinking much about his lack of proper driving licence. On the other side of town young police inspector Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec (played by Frederic Diefenthal) works in the unit led by Commissioner Gilbert (played by Bernard Farcy). They are faced with serious problem - Marseilles banks are targeted by "Mercedes Gang", group of German robbers who use their fast cars and superb driving skills to get away. Emilien meets Daniel and, being impressed with his driving skills, decides to recruit him into his unit in exchange for driving license.

If judged solely on its action scenes, Taxi is a masterpiece. Car chases are spectacular and breath-taking while Marseilles locations provide nice-looking background. Some of those scenes are even in the same league with Michael Mann's Heat. Unfortunately, those scenes are loosely tied with the plot and character that leaves much to be desired. Humour is often weak, characters are underwritten, some subplots are unnecessary and film is often plagued by overacting. Some of that is result of Hollywood cliches, but Besson and Pires also had to inject some European political agenda. For example, villains are clearly identified as Germans (although they remain faceless throughout much of the film), but Taxi tries very hard not to undermine the grand project of new European unity. New character of German policewoman (played by Emma Sjoberg) is added to the film in order to symbolise spirit of Franco-German friendship through (unconvincing) romance with Emilien. Fans of Luc Besson and those who appreciate good car chases are going to love Taxi. Those who want something more from movie are going to be disappointed.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on September 21st 2004)