Taxi 2
Taxi 2 | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Gérard Krawczyk |
Written by | Luc Besson |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Thierry Guilmaro |
Music by |
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Distributed by | EuropaCorp |
Release date |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Budget | $10.5 million[1] |
Box office | $64.4 million[1] |
Taxi 2(French:Taxi Deux) is a 2000 Frenchaction comedy filmdirected byGérard Krawczykand released in March 2000. StarringSamy Naceri,Frédéric DiefenthalandMarion Cotillard.It is the second installment in theTaxifilm series.It is a sequel toTaxi,written byLuc Bessonand directed byGérard Pirèsin 1999. It was followed byTaxi 3in January 2003.
A video game adaptation was released byUbisoft,also in 2000.
Plot
[edit]AJapanese minister of defenceis traveling toParisto sign a weapons contract between Japan and France, but first, he is visitingMarseilleto view and rate the city police's anti gang tactics (using fake attacks on him).
During the visit, however, he is kidnapped by a group working for the Japaneseyakuza.Emilien (Frédéric Diefenthal) is determined to rescue the minister and detective Petra (Emma Sjöberg), his girlfriend who was also kidnapped, and restore the honour of his department. Once again, speed demon taxi driver Daniel (Samy Naceri) is called upon to save the day with his high speed driving skills.
Also with the Peugeot, theMitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIis also featured as a star car driven by theyakuza.
Cast
[edit]- Samy Nacerias Daniel Morales
- Frédéric Diefenthalas Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec
- Marion Cotillardas Lilly Bertineau
- Emma Sjöbergas Petra
- Bernard Farcyas Commissaire Gérard Gibert
- Jean-Christophe BouvetasGénéral de divisionEdmond Bertineau
- Frédérique Tirmont as Mme Bertineau
- Tsuyu Shimizu as Yuli
- Édouard Montouteas Alain Trésor
- Ko Suzuki as Katano
- Yoshi Oida as Yuki Tsumoto
- Jean-Louis Schlesseras himself
Production
[edit]Development
[edit]Production started immediately after the massive success of the first film in the theaters, but this time Besson wanted to up his share of the split with the production company ARP to 70/30 from 50/50. Lead of ARP and Besson's friend Pétin grit his teeth, as he had carried the first project, but he agreed. The director of the first film Gérard Pirès was replaced by Gérard Krawczyk, who detractors say was more controllable, but who responded back stating he did what he wanted without needing to respect the scenarios laid by Besson.[2]
Cameraman death
[edit]On Monday, August 16, 1999, only two weeks into filming,Boulevard de l'Amiral-Bruixwas closed to traffic for the length betweenPorte DauphineandPorte Maillot.ThePeugeot 406had to come speeding out of the tunnel, head on to the springboard, jump over twoAMX-30tanks and land on a bed of boxes and mattresses. After an unsuccessful first try, the stunt coordinatorRémy Juliennewith 35 years of experience and credit of 4000 films including sixJames Bondfilms, decided to increase the incline of the springboard a bit and also up the car's running speed. On the second take, the taxi took off faster and higher, landing a few meters further than expected, hitting the 41-year-old cameraman Alain Dutartre, his assistant and a third person. Dutartre died a few hours later in the hospital. The assistant had both of his legs broken. Besson was inLos Angelesat the time and was contacted immediately. He flew to the set, where detectives were already investigating the matter. Filming had to continue, but did so in a somber mood.[2]
In June 2002, Luc Besson was summoned to court.[2]Authorities alleged safety was compromised in an effort to cut costs.[3]The stunt coordinator Rémy Julienne was given a one-year suspended jail sentence, and fined €13,000. Luc Besson, Grenet and director Gerard Krawczyk were initially cleared of charges.[4]But the Paris Court of Appeal reversed the ruling in June 2009, and EuropaCorp was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and ordered to pay €100,000. Julienne's jail sentence was reduced to six months, and his fine was reduced from €13,000 to €2,000, but he was required to pay the Dutartre family €50,000 in court costs.
Reception
[edit]Box office
[edit]Opening on 830 screens on 29 March 2000, the film set an opening day and week record in France. It had 759,512 admissions on opening day, beating the record set byAsterix and Obelix vs. Caesar,and over 3 million admissions for the week, beating the record set byThe Visitors II: The Corridors of Time.[5]It went on to have 10.3 million admissions in France (the highest for the year) and 5 million in 37 other countries worldwide.[6][7]It also had good TV ratings with 10 million viewers onTF1.[7]
Critical response
[edit]Neil Smith, reviewing the film forBBC,gave it two stars out of five and writes that it's a "virtual reprise of the 1998 French box-office smash" and while "there's very little of merit in this tongue-in-cheek actioner, it at least delivers the requisite amount of high-octane thrills."[8]
Video games
[edit]A video game based on the movie was published byUbisoftand released in France only in 2000 for thePC,Dreamcast(both versions developed by Blue Sphere Games),PlayStation(developed byDC Studios) andGame Boy Color(developed by Visual Impact).[9][10]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Taxi 2 (2000)".JP's Box-Office.Retrieved8 March2018.
- ^abcCarrière, Christophe (7 April 2018)."Luc Besson et la saga Taxi (épisode 2)".L'Express.Retrieved5 February2020.
- ^"Besson investigated for film death".BBC News.5 June 2002.
- ^"'James Bond' stuntman convicted over film shoot death - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos ".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-02-21.Retrieved2012-12-20.
- ^Meaux St Marc, Francoise (7 April 2000). "Taxi 2 grabs record 3 million admits in five days".Screen International.p. 27.
- ^Groves, Don (19 February 2001). "'Hannibal' appeals to all tastes o'seas ".Variety.p. 12.
- ^abLemercier, Fabien (28 June 2006)."Taxi franchise gets into gear".Cineuropa.Retrieved5 February2020.
- ^Smith, Neil (9 July 2001)."Taxi 2 (2000)".BBC.Retrieved5 February2020.
- ^"Taxi 2 (2000)".MobyGames.Retrieved2022-06-04.
- ^"Taxi 2".Nintendo Life.2021-05-19.Retrieved2022-06-04.
External links
[edit]- 2000 films
- 2000 action comedy films
- 2000 crime comedy films
- 2000 action thriller films
- 2000s buddy comedy films
- Films about organized crime in France
- Films directed by Gérard Krawczyk
- Films produced by Luc Besson
- Films set in Marseille
- Films set in Paris
- 2000s French-language films
- French crime comedy films
- French action thriller films
- French action comedy films
- French sequel films
- Taxi (film series)
- Yakuza films
- 2000s French films
- Films with screenplays by Luc Besson