Táxi: Velocidade nas Ruas

This is a very Gallic film indeed, but as a fan of French cinema - and of the French in general - I have to say that I enjoyed this film very much indeed. The plot is, I admit, weak in places. That doesn't matter though - this film isn't about cerebral entertainment, it's about car chases and jokes, and humour is something the French do very well. The car chases are spectacular - and far better, for my money, than the car chases featured in Gone in 60 Seconds, The Matrix Reloaded or The Fast and the Furious. Hollywood could do a lot worse than look over the Atlantic to see how car movies are made. Unfortunately, it now seems that they have but I didn't mean that they should copy the French, they need original ideas, but they also need to imitate the French flair. The jokes come thick and fast, and had me howling with laughter - it takes a lot of humour for me to forgive an absence of plot - this film has it in spades. So there you have it. Ignore the American rip off. Watch the original. You won't regret it.

A light film - the comedy is refreshingly simple and not slapstick style. Also the car chases are mostly pretty simple and not full of the excesses of Hollywood movies where everything MUST crash and everything MUST blow up in big style.

It's got style and it's got speed.

What more do you want?

The movie is developed in Marseille where a pizza delivery named Daniel, (Sami Naceri) drives a scooter, though he ultimately gets his wishes, a taxi license. The foul-mouthed cabbie join forces with a bungler inspector, a loser named Emilien(Frederic Diefenthal). Daniel is the fastest cabman with an attractive fiancée(Marion Cotillard), while Emilian goes after a gorgeous Inspector woman(Emma Sjoberg) and commanded by chief Commissaire(Bernard Farcey). The police Inspector is a complete inept behind the car and under skirts his mother. When Daniel is caught for speed infraction, then he's forced to collaborate with Emilien. They pursue a gang of violent German banks robbers and when they are on the heels of the band , the crooks drive a speed demon pursued by the taxi in a fast and furious race cars. This action-comedy film chronicling the relationship between the narrow-minded cabdriver and a botcher cop.

The motion picture blends action packed, cars pursuits, humor, shootouts, rip roaring and is pretty amusing. From the start to the ending the action pace is fast moving, provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes.Displays nonstop action and is extremely bemusing and hilarious. There are chases galore in breathtaking velocity and with impressive finale race cars, filmed by magnificent stunts and excellent visual effects. Luminous cinematography and adequate musical score fitting to action by Akhenaton. The picture is lavishly produced by great producer and director Luc Besson and well directed by Gerard Pirés. Followed by three sequels : Taxi 2(2000), Taxi 3(2003) y Taxi 4(2007), all directed by Gerard Kraczyc and same actors and an American version with Queen Lafitah and directed by Tim Story. The flick will like to adrenaline lovers and those young people looking amusing and strong emotions, It's a must see for the cars buffs.

In my opinion this is the one of the best mainstream French movies in a long while. I know that for many of us subtitled French movies are not regular choices. The film didn't break any UK/USA box office records (presumably as people were put of by its subtitles and french origins) which is a real shame. Well why should you give this one a try? Here goes...

The movie was written and produced by Luc Besson, director of such films as Leon (aka The Professional in the USA), The Fifth Element (with Bruce Willis), Kiss of the Dragon (with Jet Li and Bridget Fonda) and Nikita (aka La Femme Nikita in the USA).

The story follows Daniel, a moped pizza delivery guy who has worked to fulfill his dream of becoming a Marseilles taxi driver. He has tuned and tweaked his own taxi into something a little special... something a little out of the ordinary... I don't want to give the game away so I'll leave it there!

The film is a fast paced thrill ride that crosses the boundaries of action, comedy, romance, farce and buddy movie amongst many other genres. The characters are likeable, the humour is quick and snappy and the driving is fast and furious (some of the best chases seen on screen for a few years). After a short while you barely realise that you are reading the subtitles. The storyline may not be particularly original but it is well executed overall. The soundtrack is funky and fits in perfectly with the film.

It's not Shakespeare, but it never sets out to be Shakespeare. So if you are looking for a nicely shot film, suitable for just about anyone, give it a try.

This movie is a real diamond. It brings so many great memories and I just can't say enough good things about it. The main character has a great personality and is a great actor, the cop is as funny as a guy can be, the car scenes are on point, it is fun and funny at the same time, altho the plot is very shallow. Having an exact replica from that Peugeot would be a dream come true for me...7/10