I first saw a preview for the movie Taxi a few months ago. Parts of it looked entertaining, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it. Even after seeing more previews for the movie, I hadn’t decided for sure that I wanted to see it. I ended up getting a chance to go see it, so I went. The movie was entertaining, but it could have been better.
Belle had worked as a bike messenger for years in New York City. She had worked for a while to get her license to be a taxi driver and was excited to start her new job. She made many special modifications to her cab. She drove like a maniac, but managed to avoid any accidents or tickets. She was living with her boyfriend Jesse. He had some special plans for them, but things happened that made Belle late and ruined Jesse’s plans.
Washburn was on an undercover assignment. Things went wrong, and Washburn ended up crashing a car into a store. That was the third car he had totaled. He was a very bad driver. His boss, Lt. Marta Robbins, took away his license. He was walking to work one day when he heard a call about a bank robbery on his radio. He jumped into Belle’s cab to go to the bank. They got there just in time to see the robbers take off, so Washburn made Belle chase them. They got away. Washburn got into trouble with Marta for taking a taxi to a robbery and having Belle chase the robbers. The FBI sent in Agent Mullins to work on the investigation and Washburn was taken off the case. He kept working to catch the robbers, and he kept Belle involved in the case by saying if she helped him he would get her cab back for her. They figured out that the robbers were women before the police and FBI did. Marta wouldn’t listen to Washburn when he tried to tell her some things.
The plot of Taxi wasn’t very complex. There were a few subplots tossed in, but even they were simple. Washburn couldn’t drive. Belle had wanted to be a taxi driver for a long time and was finally able to start that job. Her boyfriend was frustrated because the plans he had kept getting messed up. Washburn and Marta had some kind of history together that added some tension to their relationship. The main plot dealt with the bank robberies and Washburn and Belle chasing them through New York trying to catch them. There wasn’t anything complicated about that. Some entertaining things did happen while Washburn and Belle were looking for the robbers. Other things, like the fact that the robbers were models from Brazil, were a bit silly. Some of the things a few characters said at times were silly or cheesy. Some of the exchanges between Belle and Jesse just made me roll my eyes. I don’t mind silly things when they made me laugh, but some of the silly things in this movie didn’t do that.
There was a little bit of action in the movie, mostly provided by several high speed car chases. The robbers and Belle were racing through New York City at very high speeds. Other cops were involved in some of the chases as well. There were some accidents. Washburn caused a huge pile up early in the movie. The robbers managed to keep from wrecking, though their car did receive some damage. Belle ended up running over a fire hydrant once. Otherwise, she avoided accidents as well. It was a bit unbelievable that with the reckless way they were driving there weren’t more accidents. Though with a movie like this, I didn’t expect a lot of believability. Guns were used in a few scenes as well. There was some violence in the movie, but it wasn’t that extreme. The chases were entertaining. Belle drove recklessly even before Washburn had her chasing the robbers. Her first fare and his reaction to how she drove was funny. Washburn and Belle both said and did several funny things. Washburn was a bit of a joke as a cop, and he ended up in several funny situations.
Even though the movie did cut to different shots quickly at times, it wasn’t too bad. I could still tell what was going. The camera wasn’t too jerky like has happened in some movies. There did seem to be at least a minor editing goof in the movie. At one point, Washburn was upset about some things and Belle was talking to him. She mentioned something that hadn’t happened in the movie, but I did remember seeing in the previews for the movie. A few minutes later, the event that Belle had talked about earlier like it already happened actually did happen. That was just a minor thing that I noticed and it didn’t bother me that much. But it could have easily been fixed. There were a few things that didn’t happen the way they seemed to from the trailer I saw before. It made it look like Belle said a certain line to Washburn, and that he was her first fare. He wasn’t, and she said the line to a different man instead. That didn’t bother me since it didn’t really change the point of the movie. Some other trailers have made movies seem very different from how they really were.
Belle and Jesse had been dating for a while when the movie started. They were living together. They were shown kissing a few times, but that was it for any love scenes in the movie. There wasn’t any nudity, though the female robbers were shown wearing very little in a few scenes. After one of the robberies, they stripped down to bikinis and the camera did slow pans of their bodies. They were standing around in this alley even after they were done changing adjusting straps and thongs so that viewers could get a good long look at them in those skimpy outfits. There was no real need for that scene to drag on as long as it did. Washburn and Marta had dated before she was promoted. She seemed to have moved past it, but he still had feelings for her. Their relationship was a bit strained. She got very irritated with him at times, which was understandable, but then she refused to even listen to him at one point. Later when Washburn said something, she was furious that he hadn’t told her that earlier despite the fact that she had refused to give him the chance to speak before. I thought she was being a bit unreasonable, especially since she was a cop working on a big case and he had said he had information about it.
There was more about Belle in Taxi than I had expected from the preview. It started off showing her on her last day as a bike messenger and into her first day as a cab driver. Washburn didn’t show up until a bit later. I think Belle was developed a bit more than he was. Queen Latifah and Jimmy Fallon were good in the parts. They worked well together as well. Only one of the robbers had a name. Vanessa seemed to be the leader. She was played by Gisele Bundchen, a model. I think this was her first movie. She did ok, but she didn’t seem to have that much to do other that look beautiful while driving fast. Henry Simmons, who played Jesse, looked familiar to me, but when I checked, I hadn’t seen any of his other movies before. He wasn’t into many scenes. He was all right for the most part. He just got stuck with some cheesy lines, but that wasn’t his fault. I had heard of Jennifer Esposito before seeing this movie, but I had no idea which character she played until I double checked the cast list later. She was fine as Marta. When I first saw Agent Mullins, I knew I’d seen him in something before, but I couldn’t figure out what I had seen him in. It was driving me nuts. I finally found out that he had a small part in Secondhand Lions, though I don’t remember him in that. I recognized him because he played Lindsay in the tv show Angel. He didn’t have too many scenes, but he was good in them. Ann-Margaret was wonderful as Washburn’s mother. I think she was the best thing in the movie.
CHARACTERS
Washburn - He was a cop in New York City. He didn’t know when to stop embellishing when he was under cover. He was a very bad driver. He ended up in some bad situations a few times. He lived in the apartment next door to his mother.
Belle - A former bike messenger that just started to drive a cab. She added many extra features to her cab. She drove like a maniac, but managed to avoid getting any tickets. Her dream was to be a NASCAR driver. She got annoyed with Washburn at times, but she was willing to help him with certain things.
Jesse - Belle’s boyfriend. He supported her becoming a cab driver, but he was frustrated because they didn’t have a lot of time together.
Marta - Washburn’s boss. She got very annoyed with Washburn and the things he did.
Agent Mullins - He was the FBI agent sent in to work on the robbery case.
Vanessa - Leader of the bank robbers.
CAST
Gisele Bundchen - Vanessa
Jennifer Esposito - Lt. Marta Robbins
Jimmy Fallon - Washburn
Christian Kane - Agent Mullins
Queen Latifah - Belle
Ann-Margaret - Washburn’s mother
Henry Simmons - Jesse
Taxi was released in October of 2004. The movie was rated PG-13 and 97 minutes long. There was a little bit of swearing in the movie, but nothing extreme. It would probably be all right for older kids to see if they were interested in the movie. Luc Besson, the man who wrote and directed The Fifth Element, wrote an early version of the screenplay. When I was double checking a few things about the movie, I did see that Besson was tied to several Taxi movies that were made in France.
Taxi was an entertaining movie, though there were a few problems with it. I have seen better, but it did entertain me. People that enjoy Queen Latifah or Jimmy Fallon may enjoy the movie. People who are in the mood for a movie with some comedy and action may enjoy it. There are better options, but there are much worse.
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