Produced by Luc Besson, the action is stylish, fast-paced, and doesn't take itself too seriously.
| Aspect | Information | |------------|------------------| | Title | Taxi 2 | | Release Date | 29 March 2000 (France) | | Director | Gérard Krawczyk (Luc Besson served as writer and producer) | | Writer | Luc Besson | | Running Time | 88 minutes | | Country | France | | Language | French (with some Japanese and German) | | Budget | ~€10.6 million | | Box Office | ~€64.9 million (France only), over $64 million worldwide |
(Samy Naceri), a speed-obsessed taxi driver, and his inept police officer friend Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec (Frédéric Diefenthal). The Mission:
During a high-profile visit to Marseilles to study French anti-gang tactics, the Japanese Minister of Defense is kidnapped by a group of The Rescue: taxi 2 -2000-
Daniel and Émilien must race from Marseilles to Paris to rescue the minister and Émilien's girlfriend, Petra, who was also taken. Key Stunt:
The film is famous for a sequence where the "super-taxi" (a modified Peugeot 406) is dropped from a plane via parachute into the streets of Paris. Cast & Characters Role Description Samy Naceri Daniel Morales The skilled, unlicensed taxi driver. Frédéric Diefenthal The accident-prone police inspector. Marion Cotillard Lilly Bertineau Daniel's girlfriend. Emma Wiklund A high-ranking officer and Émilien's partner. Bernard Farcy Commissaire Gibert The eccentric and bumbling police commissioner. Critical & Audience Reception Films - review - Taxi 2 - BBC
It is fascinating to note that Taxi 2 was released in March 2000, while The Fast and the Furious (2001) was still a year away. While the American franchise focused on tuner culture and family drama, Taxi 2 -2000- focused on absurd vehicular transformations and pure slapstick. Produced by Luc Besson, the action is stylish,
Director Gérard Krawczyk, a former stuntman, brought a visceral realism to the sequel. Unlike the CGI-heavy movies of the late 90s (think The Matrix’s bullet time), Taxi 2 -2000- relied on practical effects.
These techniques inspired a generation of European stunt coordinators. When you search for "taxi 2 -2000-" on YouTube today, the comment sections are filled with stuntmen praising the film’s authenticity.
What separates Taxi 2 -2000- from typical fast-food action movies is the genuine chemistry between its leads. It is fascinating to note that Taxi 2
In 2000, this trio delivered a rhythm that Hollywood has rarely matched: action, pause, laugh, action. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a perfectly tuned engine.
The story is hilarious because it mocks authority. The police force in Taxi 2 is depicted as completely useless.
Taxi 2 picks up shortly after the events of the 1998 original. Daniel Morales (Samy Naceri), the demon taxi driver with a modified Peugeot 406, is still weaving through the streets of Marseille at impossible speeds, while his bumbling policeman friend, Inspector Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec (Frédéric Diefenthal), is still trying to pass his driver’s license exam.
The plot thickens when Émilien is assigned to escort a high-ranking Japanese defense official to a Franco-Japanese technological summit. Naturally, everything goes wrong. A mix-up involving a Yakuza delegation, a kidnapped daughter, and a police commissioner who is more of a caricature than a commander thrusts Daniel and Émilien into a race against time. The film’s centerpiece arrives when the Japanese minister’s daughter is kidnapped by a notorious gang, forcing Daniel to unleash the full arsenal of his taxi’s modifications—including retractable machine guns and smoke screens—to save the day.