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The film begins with a ship in the ocean. Two workers
think that they are transporting alcohol, and want to have a little
taste. They open a container and find numerous drums inside. One of the
drums is knocked over. They pick it up and open it, only to get a face
full of toxic waste. The captain and crew hear an alarm go off and put
on gas masks. They find the two workers, dead next to the open drum. The
captain has the bodies thrown over the side of the ship. Elsewhere,
Malcolm (David Atrakchi) drives his car to a police checkpoint. A cop
requests to see his passport, and he shows it to him. The cop sees a
woman sleeping in the backseat, and Malcolm says that she's tired from
partying last night. The cop lets Malcolm through the checkpoint.
Frank Martin (Jason Statham) and Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand)
enjoy a boring day of fishing in the ocean. They are at the spot that
Tarconi used to fish with his father, and is surprised that they havent
had any bites yet. Eventually, Tarconi gets a bite and Frank gets all
excited, telling him to fight for the fish. Elsewhere, Malcolm gets to
another police checkpoint and shows his papers to a cop. However, the
cop tells Malcolm to get out of the car and bring his papers inside so
that they can inspect it. He also tells him that the woman in the back
needs to come inside as well. Malcolm looks nervous, and then he winds
up speeding past the checkpoint. The cops chase Malcolm through the
streets, but wind up crashing into a van. Tarconi, after losing the
fish, gets the call about the chase and is surprised that Frank was not
the driver. He tells Frank that he's going to have to cut their fishing
day short, and they depart just as Frank gets a bite. At the airport,
Johnson (Robert Knepper) and his men arrive in a private jet. When asked
what his purpose is in the country, Johnson says that he's there for
environmental protection. During this time we see Minister Leonid
Vasilev (Jeroen Krabbe) talking with reporters about his plan to help
save the environment. Vasilev goes into his office and finds a
confidential envelope waiting on his desk. The envelope starts to ring,
and he finds a cell phone inside. Johnson is on the other end of the
line, and is watching Vasilev from across the street. Johnson works for
a company that Vasilev refused to do business with, since they would
cause harm to the environment. Johnson has been hired to convince him to
reconsider, and tells him to look at the picture inside the envelope.
Vasilev is shocked by what he sees, and Johnson tells him that hell be
in contact with him.
At night, Frank falls asleep watching a fishing show on TV at his house.
He wakes up, and hears tires screeching. Suddenly, a car crashes into
his house. The driver is Malcolm, and he is bloodied from the crash and
having been shot. As Frank recognizes him, we see a flashback to when he
was approached for a job. Frank declined, and instead gave the man
Malcolms name and number to contact. The man was adamant that his boss
wanted Frank because he's the best and wouldn't take no for an answer.
Frank tried to leave, but became surrounded by henchmen in a room with a
piano in it. They tried to make him reconsider, but Frank took off his
jacket and beat the crap out of them all. Back to the present, Frank
calls an ambulance to get help for Malcolm, who refuses to get out of
the car. Frank sees that he has a metal device strapped around his
wrist, and the paramedics show up. Malcolm, weak, tries to tell them
something about the car but the paramedics load him into the ambulance
and start to drive away. Frank inspects the car and then sees Valentina
(Natalya Rudakova) in the backseat. He tries to get her to get out of
the car so that he can help her, but she shows him that she's also
wearing a metal device. Frank realizes that something's wrong and runs
after the ambulance. After a certain distance, the ambulance explodes.
He goes back into his house and is immediately knocked out by someone.
When Frank wakes up, he finds himself in a room wearing nothing but his
underwear and a metal device around his wrist. He finds a suit in the
closet and puts it on. Johnson walks in and says that he would like to
hire him for a job, since Malcolm (his replacement) failed. Frank
maintains that he's unavailable. Becoming annoyed with a henchman,
Johnson shoots him in the forehead and then points the gun at Frank. He
tells him that he has three seconds to accept the job or hell kill him.
Frank has no choice but to take the job, under the condition that he
drives his own car. Johnson had a feeling that he would want his car,
and so he leads Frank to a garage. Johnson has had his men take out all
the weapons from the car and has installed his own GPS. He also gives
him a wad of cash for gas/food, and a cell phone that will only call
Johnsons number. He tells Frank to think of this as more of a mission,
and tells him to not disappoint. He also mentions that the metal device
around his wrist is a bomb, and if he gets more than 75 feet away from
the car, hell explode. Hell be released after completing the mission.
Frank is about to get in when he sees that Valentina is sitting in the
passenger seat. He says that he works alone, but says that hell take the
girl when Johnson threatens to kill her. He gets into the car and, after
loading two bags into the trunk, tells Frank to get driving. Meanwhile,
Tarconi arrives at Franks house and wonders what the hell happened
there. He has his cops set up a crime scene, and a cop tows away
Malcolms car. However, the tow truck is blocked off by a car and the cop
is shot through the windshield. The gunmen remove the GPS from Malcolms
car and drive off.
After getting through a police checkpoint, Frank calls Johnson and he
tells him to punch in a code for the GPS. The next location he will have
to go is Budapest (Hungary). Frank repeatedly tries to get Valentina to
talk to him about what's going on, but she refuses. Meanwhile, Tarconi
has found the tow truck and the dead cop inside. He reviews video
footage from the tow truck and sees who the gunmen were. He also sees
their license plate, and has his cops try to find them. Frank drives off
the chosen path and Johnson is made aware of it, since his men are
tracking the car. Johnson sends some henchmen to persuade Frank to get
back on course, but warns his men not to kill him since they need him.
Frank drives to a garage owned by his friend Otto (Timo Dierkes), who's
also a tech whiz. He shows Otto the bomb around his wrist, and asks him
if he can remove it. Otto cant, and says that he knows the Pentagon has
been working on something like it in secret. He says that there's a
transmitter somewhere in the car, and then Johnsons goons show up. Frank
orders Otto to search his car for the transmitter while the henchmen
order Frank to get driving. They grab wrenches & poles, and attack
Frank. As he beats his way through the men, Frank takes off his clothes
and uses them as weapons. Eventually, he winds up shirtless and a giant
henchman shows up. He throws Frank through a wall and beats him up.
Frank tries to fight back, but his punches/kicks seem to hardly have any
effect on him. The giant winds up getting stuck in the floor, and Frank
bashes his head with a shovel. As Frank gets dressed, Valentina has
obviously become attracted to him and helps straighten his tie. Otto
finds the transmitter, but if he removes it the bombs will go off. Frank
and Valentina drive away.
While Valentina takes a nap in the back, Frank calls Johnson and tells
him that he wants to talk face-to-face. Johnson says that hell be at
Budapest, and to wait for his call. Frank arrives in Budapest and then
sees a nearby pay phone ringing. He exits the car to answer it, and
Johnson says that he's been thinking about their arrangement. He's
starting to think that anyone with a drivers license can do the mission,
and so in the vein of Donald Trump, he fires Frank. A henchman steals
Franks car and drives away. Frank chases him on foot, desperate to
remain within distance. Valentina wakes up and sees that the new driver
is not Frank. She starts to fight with him, trying to get him to stop
the car, as Frank steals a bicycle and rides through a factory.
Eventually, the driver stops to take care of Valentina. Frank rides his
bicycle through a window, jumps through the drivers window, and kicks
him out. Frank then drives off with Valentina. Meanwhile, the men that
hired Johnson meet with Vasilev and order him to sign their contract,
which also includes allowing the ship from the beginning to enter port
without question. Vasilev buys some time by requesting 24 hours to
review the contract. Also, Frank contacts Tarconi and informs him of the
situation at hand. Frank talks with Johnson again, and agrees to do the
mission. The next location he has to go to is Bucharest. Tarconi and his
cops were listening in on the call, and are doing their best to trace
Johnsons location but its difficult since he keeps on moving.
Valentina says that she's hungry and describes what she wants to eat.
She becomes more upbeat and puts on some make-up. When she does, she
finds that she still has some drugs. She offers Frank a pill, but he
refuses since he's more focused with driving. He tells her not to take
the pills, but she does anyways. Valentina blasts some music and then
says that she needs to pee. Frank pulls into a gas station and fills up
the tank. Before Valentina goes inside, Frank reminds her not to go far
from the car. Valentina goes inside the convenience store and pays for
the gas. She eats some food and drinks some vodka in the back of the
store. However, she is unable to get to the bathroom because its more
than 75 feet from the car. Valentina resorts to pissing in the aisle
while Frank becomes frustrated with her behavior. A car pulls up in
front of the gas station, and a man gets out to piss on the side of the
road. Frank gets suspicious and tells Valentina to get back in the car.
She keeps on drinking the vodka and makes a scene at the gas pump. The
guys in the car up ahead recognize Valentina and go into reverse. Frank
throws the vodka away, shoves Valentina into the back, and speeds off.
The other car tries to run Frank off the road, but fail. Frank calls
Johnson and asks him why the car is chasing him. The guys in the other
car are not Johnsons people, and so he tells Frank to drive faster while
he figures out who they are. Two big trucks drive in both lanes on the
road up ahead. Frank turns the car on its side and drives sideways
between the trucks. He makes it past, and one of the trucks loses
control. The other car chases Frank to a forest and fire at him with
machine guns. Frank slams on the brakes just before the edge of a cliff.
The other car drives over the cliff and explodes after falling.
Frank rests his head on the steering wheel, and Valentina massages him
because he's so tense. She then kisses the back of his neck, and Frank
asks him what she's doing. She says that if they're going to die, she
wants to have sex one last time. Frank declines and gets out of the car.
He looks in the trunk and finds that the two bags are filled with phone
books. He then realizes that Valentina is the package he's transporting.
She steals his keys and playfully walks away from the car. She says that
she was turned on watching him fight shirtless earlier, and she wants
him to do a striptease. Frank reluctantly takes off his shirt, but
Valentina then requests a kiss. He kisses her, but she wants a kiss like
he means it. Frank passionately kisses her, and they continue to make
out even after he gets his keys back. Meanwhile, Johnson calls Vasilev
and is furious that he sent some men to try to thwart his plan. Johnson
says that if he ever wants to see his daughter Valentina again, hell
have to play ball and sign the contract. Vasilev reveals that he knows
who Johnson is and says that he wants to talk to his daughter before
signing the contract. Johnson tries to call Frank, but he's too busy
having sex with Valentina in the car. He's also at a loss because since
Frank is in the forest, he's out of range for them to track him.
As Frank and Valentina overlook the valley, Valentina finally reveals
what happened. She was at a nightclub partying with friends when someone
gave her a drugged drink. She went to the bathroom and passed out. When
she woke up, she was in the backseat of Malcolms car. She begged Malcolm
to pull over and let her call her father. He did, even though it was
against the rules. As she called her father, Johnsons henchmen showed up
and chased them. They shot Malcolm in the back, and he told Valentina
that he would make sure she's safe, which is why he crashed into Franks
house. Frank and Valentina get back on the road, and Johnson calls them.
He says that instead of going to Bucharest, he's going to take the next
left and continue down the road. Valentina is afraid that they will kill
Frank, but he tells her not to worry about it. Elsewhere, Tarconi visits
Vasilev and works with him on getting his daughter back. Johnson calls
and orders Vasilev to sign the contract, but he refuses until he hears
Valentinas voice. He hangs up before Tarconi can trace his location.
Frank winds up driving on a bridge, and becomes blocked on it (Johnson
and his men are at both sides). Johnson orders Valentina to get out of
the car and walk to him. Frank kisses her goodbye and tells her that
hell be fine. Valentina walks over to Johnson, who removes her bomb, and
spits in his face. Johnson punches her in the stomach and shoves her
into a car. He then orders his men to kill Frank. They pump his car full
of bullets, and Frank drives off the bridge into the water below.
Johnson is satisfied, since he's dead either way (he stays, he drowns he
leaves, he explodes).
Underwater, Frank calls Tarconi and tells him where he is. Tarconi and
the cops are ten minutes away and tell Frank to hang on. As Frank begins
to drown, he swims to the trunk and takes out the two bags from earlier.
He uses the air from the tires to blow air into the bags, which allows
him to breathe. He then ties the bags to the car, and the air causes the
car to float to the surface. Tarconi and the cops arrive just in time to
see Frank & his car being pulled out of the water by a tractor. Frank
gets a new pair of clothes and works on his car to get it running again.
Meanwhile, Johnson and his men arrive at a train station. He tells a
henchman to buy tickets for the next train, since they need to keep
moving. The henchman annoys Johnson and he almost kills him, but stops
when he sees witnesses around. While on the train, Johnson calls Vasilev
and lets him speak with Valentina. Tarconis cops are able to trace
Johnsons location to the train. Franks car starts again, and he speeds
off to save Valentina. Johnson says that he really hates violence, since
it causes more problems than solutions, but sometimes its necessary to
get what you want. Valentina then sees that Frank is driving alongside
the train and smiles. Frank drives up ahead to a bridge and then drives
off it, landing on top of the train. He jumps through a window and is
fired upon by the henchmen. Johnson holds Valentina at gunpoint, but she
bites his hand and runs off into the other cabs. Frank kicks a helmet at
a goons face, grabs a machine gun, and kills all the henchmen. Johnson
gets to Valentina again, and Frank runs after him. However, he is forced
to stop due to being 75 feet from the car. Johnson dares Frank to takes
one more step, but Frank runs away.
While Tarconi and the cops give chase to the train, they see Frank climb
on top of the train and climb back into his car. Johnson separates the
cabs so that Franks section drifts away from them. Frank manages to
drive his car from the top of the train into the cab where Johnson and
Valentina are. Frank then gets out and beats the hell out of Johnson. He
tries to stab Frank with a knife, but Frank knocks it away and continues
to beat him. Johnson lands on the car and Frank grabs the key to remove
his bomb. He then ties Johnsons arm to the car, straps the bomb to his
wrist, and puts the car in reverse. Johnson panics and gets his arm
loose from the car before it falls off the train. He then realizes that
he should've stayed with the car, since he becomes 75 feet from it.
Johnson explodes, causing the train to come to a halt. Frank finds
Valentina and kisses her. Tarconi rescues them and calls Vasilev,
telling him that his daughter is safe. Vasilev rips up the contract, and
the ship from the beginning is raided by the police. Some time later, we
see Frank and Tarconi fishing again in the ocean. Tarconi notes that
Frank is changing, and we see that Valentina is with them, sunbathing on
the boat. The film ends with Valentina telling them what she wants to
eat.
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