Taxxi 3

The TAXI series (this is obviously the third installment) are highly successful French movies which for mysterious reasons are never distributed in USA (or at least in Miami).

Created and produced by the legendary and admired (ex-director) Luc Besson (you remember him from masterpieces like The Professional, La Femme Nikita, The Big Blue or The Fifth Element) he managed to create a mix of action and comedy, with some of ingenuous gags, some adults jokes and plenty of action (mostly car stunts) and very mild violence and overall VERY HUMAN.

TAXI 3 tracks Emilien's (the police officer) obsession to catch a gang disguised as Santa Claus with the help of Daniel (the nuts taxi driver) both trying to overcome their conjugal issues and the pregnancy of their wives. The story is very simple (as is the movie short), so everything rest on the characters (some of them very funny and some not so) and on the impressive stunts which are really very good and a lot more realistic than the computer generated car chases of Bad Boys II.

As I said before, it is really a pity this funny movies get no distribution here. Of course Hollywood can make things like this. Technically better probably but without the natural grace and believability of this very sympathetic group of actors.

The best thing I can say about this movie is that it made me laugh. Some of the jokes and scenes were easily on level with the first two movies. Add to that healthy chemistry between the two leads and you get all the ingredients needed for a good buddy-cop movie.

Unfortunately, Besson simply fails to string these bits and pieces into a coherent whole. Bad guys are the repeat from the second part, only without kung-fu and cool cars (pretty stupid decision for a movie targeting car enthusiast), and their plans and actions are complete nonsense. The whole plot seems to be there just as an excuse to throw in a bunch of obvious self-references, lame cameos (Sylvester Stalone as a secret agent?) and extreme sport mix-tapes (Besson's latest fetish, it seems).

Action scenes are the final nail on the coffin. The Taxi series never had really spectacular car chases (the closest they came was the Paris scene in Taxi II), but they at least HAD some chases. Here, it's all bikes, monster-trucks, roller-skates and skis. Daniel's taxi performs several stunts and grows a few more SF accessories, but it doesn't really have much to work with, given the opposing arsenal.

Overall, the movie has some funny bits (even more if you speak French), but the rest of it was pretty disappointing.

I don't think you HAVE to be a TAXI fan to like the movie. It is at least as entertaining as the first two POLICE ACADEMY movies or the third VACATION movie, and while it is not a great work it is fun to watch despite the fact that the plot is thin because the jokes work. It is certainly funnier than TORRENTE 2, and that was a blockbuster over here. Perhaps the difference is that the humour in TAXI 3 is more subtle... or maybe just not so raunchy...

Also, the short appearance by SLY is a great introduction for those who are not familiar with the characters, and he does his part well.

Of course, TRANSPORTER was a much better film (with better chase scenes through the same Marseille streets) but then that was a thriller rather than light comedy.

Lots of fun , laughs and car races . This thrilling as well as humorous motion picture blends action packed , car pursuits , comedy , shootouts , rip roaring and turns out to be pretty amusing . Displays nonstop action and is extremely bemusing and hilarious . The movie is developed in Marseille , as usual , there foul-mouthed Cabbie (Sami Narcery) join forces with a bungler police inspector , a loser named Emilien (Frederic Diefenthal) . A gang of thieves calling themselves the Santa Claus band are committing robbing , and the police can't keep up . Police Captain Gilbert (Bernard Farcy) is distracted by a Chinese journalist (Bai Ling) writing a story on his group , detective Emilien's sweetheart (Emma Sjöberg as Petra) has just announced that she's pregnant, and taxi driver Daniel is in the midst of a relationship crisis with Lilly Bertineau (Marion Cotillard) who is also pregnant . After a string of errors in which the thieves outsmart the police time and time again with a journalist there to record it all , the sympathetic Cabbie Daniel and his super-taxi go into action . Out to stop a new gang disguised as Santa Claus, Emilien and Daniel must also handle major changes in their personal relationships .

The film displays action , comedy , intrigue , tongue in check and results to be entertaining , though predictable . There are chases galore in breathtaking velocity and with impressive finale race cars , causing wreak havoc and destruction , being realized by magnificent stunts and including excellent visual effects . From the start to the ending the action pace is fast moving , provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes . It's a run of the mill action-comedy film but from the initial to the final the fast movement and amusement is unstopped . Breathtaking scenes when take place alpine skiing , parachuting images and others in James Bond style . The laughters and chuckles are varied and giggles are based about diverse characters and differences of the protagonists , but they are the unlikeliest pals . The film is thrilling and humorous at times but is also ridiculous and embarrassing . However sometimes is fresh and diverting and on a couple of memorable occasions, it's frankly delicious . Likable and ordinary cast as Frédéric Diefenthal , Emma Wiklund , Bernard Farcy , Marion Cotillard , Sami Narcery ; even though they play a romantic couple that looks the same age, Samy Naceri was born 15 years before Marion Cotillard . Special appearance Sylvester Stallone, who appears in a cameo at the beginning of the movie, is dubbed for the French version . Lively and atmospheric musical score adjusted to the action by DJ Kore and DJ Skalp , composed by means of synthesizer . Glamorous and colorful cinematography by Gerard Sterin .

This French buddy-cop movie is lavishly produced by great producer and director Luc Besson and professionally directed by Gérard Krawczyk (Wasabi , Fanfan La Tulipe , Heroines) . The original titled Taxi (1998) by Gerard Pires was followed by three sequels : Taxi 2 (2000), Taxi 3 (2003) y Taxi 4 (2007) , most of them directed by Gerard Krawczyc and same actors and an American version with Queen Lafitah , Jimmy Fallon and directed by Tim Story . The flick will appeal to adrenaline lovers and those young people looking for amusing and strong emotions . It's a must see for the cars buffs and Taxi series enthusiasts .

Yes, it is funny but I am getting a little tired of watching the same thing the third time around. I like the first one because it was fresh and different... But, Taxi 3 is just a copy of the previous 2 with a little new twist... I hope there will be no Taxi 4 coming out any time soon...