Attempting to pull off the coup a second time, Besson - again in producer/writer
capacity - slightly overcooks these same ingredients. Recapturing
Taxi's
sheer freshness and verve was always going to be a tough ask and while the
actual chases through various streets and down several roads and motorways are
effortlessly the equal of anything in the first film, Taxi 2 takes the
concept of a souped-up Peugot saloon just a little too far by allowing it to
take to the air in pseudo James Bond-style. Much like those 007 movies from
the 1980s, when the gadgets grew evermore fantastical and rather throwaway,
upping the ante in such a manner has the side-effect of reducing the pure
adrenaline thrill offered by more reality-based manoeuvres.
The repartee is again nicely done (if slightly rushed this time), while the
jokes are also often hilarious (as previously, nothing is lost in the subtitled
translation). The most memorably daft character from Taxi, the bumbling
Superintendent Gibert with a penchant for farcical behaviour - thankfully
returns in a prominent role, while Lilly - Daniel's gorgeous girlfriend with a
furnace-hot libido - is still in the picture and proves the catalyst for
events in this second adventure.
There are sight-gags aplenty, as well as an ingenious set-piece concerning a
hi-tech, voice activated car designed to give diplomats and other important
personnel maximum protection against all kinds of potential attack, but somehow
it feels rather too silly and lightweight at times.
Furthermore, the sexual innuendo is rather more explicit than in the first
movie, with some flagrantly non-PC jokes about policeman who like to "guzzle
knobs" (as the subtitles tactfully put it) and a couple of somewhat obvious
mix-ups between Daniel and Lilly over the phone, where overheard noises and
dialogue give her misleading impression of what's actually going on. For a
12-certifcate (compared to Taxi's 15), the martial arts fight sequence manages
to reveal (unintentionally or otherwise) more of the female agents' anatomies
than expected - and in the case of statuesque blonde Petra, sans underwear due
to an earlier incident, her highkicks and backflips leave absolutely nothing
to the imagination.
In terms of extras, Metrodome offer a better package than they did for the
first Taxi, but not by much. Its animated menu screens are pleasing on the eye,
although the scene index screens are in fact static and - on a PC-DVD player -
can be frustratingly awkward to select or naviagte. 14 chapters is also, in
all honesty, completely inadequate even for an 84-minute film.
At least the picture is Anamorphic Widescreen on this occasion and a Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack is offered as well as the Dolby Surround 2.0 option.
The "Documentary Video" is just a standard Behind-the-Scenes featurette lasting
around 10 minutes, with its typical splicing of movie clips, interview footage
and shots of making the movie giving a brief glimpse into the process involved
while never concentrating on anything long enough to satisfy.
Taxi 2 was obviously huge fun to make, and the feelgood factor is again
extremely high, yet overall it falls short of its predecessor, with an ending
which comes to a sudden stop without fulfilling its promise of a big finale.
The main question now is... can this formula can withstand another 90-minute
indentikit romp without losing its charm? The potential for a lucrative
franchise seems almost undeniable, but it would be a shame if what began as a
fantastically enjoyable and winning enterprise ended up a mere caricature of
itself.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
