The Transporter Refueled PG-13
Thirteen years ago, Luc Besson wrote The Transporter (and later its two sequels) around finicky driver Frank Martin, a lead role tailor made for Jason Statham. This franchise reboot features a younger version of the former special ops mercenary Frank. He’s even got hair. Ed Skrein steps into the role with the story set in the south of France where Frank is hired by a femme-fatale (Loan Chabanol) seeking revenge against a sinister Russian kingpin. As before, The Transporter is both an extraordinary driver and martial arts powerhouse, dispatching bad guys with a swift kick, but capable of tenderness with the right woman. Besson plans another trilogy around Skrein with each film coming in at the bargain rate of $30 million or less. Here’s to cheap fun. (Lisa Miller)
A Walk in the Woods R
Call it a late-life crisis. Distinguished, semi-retired travel writer Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) is tired and in need of a challenge. Although everyone tells him he’s too old, the Appalachian Trail beckons. Recognizing the danger of going solo, he seeks a companion for his Odyssey, a friend he hasn’t seen in decades, Steve Katz (Nick Nolte). Turns out that Steve is fat with a trick knee, but they set forth anyway down the 2,100-mile trail. Based on the memoir by the real Bryson, A Walk in the Woods is a droll comedy in its best moments, a two-fish-out-of-water story that strains to reflect on time, nature and the value of trying. (David Luhrssen)
