Taxi 3 (2003) Reviews

• The type of comedy I would like Hollywood to do

  abisio2003-09-13

  The TAXI series (this is obviously the third installment) are highly successful French movies which for mysterious reasons are never distributed in USA (or at least in Miami). Created and produced by the legendary and admired (ex-director) Luc Besson (you remember him from masterpieces like The Professional, La Femme Nikita, The Big Blue or The Fifth Element) he managed to create a mix of action and comedy, with some of ingenuous gags, some adults jokes and plenty of action (mostly car stunts) and very mild violence and overall VERY HUMAN. TAXI 3 tracks Emilien's (the police officer) obsession to catch a gang disguised as Santa Claus with the help of Daniel (the nuts taxi driver) both trying to overcome their conjugal issues and the pregnancy of their wives. The story is very simple (as is the movie short), so everything rest on the characters (some of them very funny and some not so) and on the impressive stunts which are really very good and a lot more realistic than the computer generated car chases of Bad Boys II. As I said before, it is really a pity this funny movies get no distribution here. Of course Hollywood can make things like this. Technically better probably but without the natural grace and believability of this very sympathetic group of actors.

• I like this movie

  supermag2007-07-08

  If you like Taxi 1 and Taxi 2, you must see Taxi 3. It isn't a perfect movie but is still funny and has good Taxi stunt scenes (speed, pursuit, braking e.t.c) like Taxi 1 and 2. The cops (police) can't drive!! (they always crash their cars and this is very funny). It's too bad the movie is too short, but is entertaining almost all the time. I would prefer the bad guys drive cars like the Mercedes(Taxi 1) or the black Lancer Evos (Taxi 2)instead of skates. This movie never arrived to México so I watched on TV. Yes, I think Taxi 1 and 2 are better, but again, this movie (Taxi 3) is still funny. Very good actors and actress Taxi 4 I haven't seen yet!!

• Fun, Fun, Fun (till daddy takes the Renault away)

  blackbeltjay2003-02-11

  For all you intelektuwal critics: this movie is not meant to be the subject of a 100+ pages paper, it is meant to be fun, fun, fun. And oh yes, the Taxi-series delivers again. Excellent music, supercool acting jobs all around, offbeat humor and absolutely no twelve-year-olds doing magic stuff... really, what more do you want?

• Nice and exciting French action comedy in which the usual squad takes on a gang disguised as Santa Claus

  ma-cortes2013-06-16

  Lots of fun , laughs and car races . This thrilling as well as humorous motion picture blends action packed , car pursuits , comedy , shootouts , rip roaring and turns out to be pretty amusing . Displays nonstop action and is extremely bemusing and hilarious . The movie is developed in Marseille , as usual , there foul-mouthed Cabbie (Sami Narcery) join forces with a bungler police inspector , a loser named Emilien (Frederic Diefenthal) . A gang of thieves calling themselves the Santa Claus band are committing robbing , and the police can't keep up . Police Captain Gilbert (Bernard Farcy) is distracted by a Chinese journalist (Bai Ling) writing a story on his group , detective Emilien's sweetheart (Emma Sjöberg as Petra) has just announced that she's pregnant, and taxi driver Daniel is in the midst of a relationship crisis with Lilly Bertineau (Marion Cotillard) who is also pregnant . After a string of errors in which the thieves outsmart the police time and time again with a journalist there to record it all , the sympathetic Cabbie Daniel and his super-taxi go into action . Out to stop a new gang disguised as Santa Claus, Emilien and Daniel must also handle major changes in their personal relationships . The film displays action , comedy , intrigue , tongue in check and results to be entertaining , though predictable . There are chases galore in breathtaking velocity and with impressive finale race cars , causing wreak havoc and destruction , being realized by magnificent stunts and including excellent visual effects . From the start to the ending the action pace is fast moving , provides fast and furious entertainment with spectacular scenes . It's a run of the mill action-comedy film but from the initial to the final the fast movement and amusement is unstopped . Breathtaking scenes when take place alpine skiing , parachuting images and others in James Bond style . The laughters and chuckles are varied and giggles are based about diverse characters and differences of the protagonists , but they are the unlikeliest pals . The film is thrilling and humorous at times but is also ridiculous and embarrassing . However sometimes is fresh and diverting and on a couple of memorable occasions, it's frankly delicious . Likable and ordinary cast as Frédéric Diefenthal , Emma Wiklund , Bernard Farcy , Marion Cotillard , Sami Narcery ; even though they play a romantic couple that looks the same age, Samy Naceri was born 15 years before Marion Cotillard . Special appearance Sylvester Stallone, who appears in a cameo at the beginning of the movie, is dubbed for the French version . Lively and atmospheric musical score adjusted to the action by DJ Kore and DJ Skalp , composed by means of synthesizer . Glamorous and colorful cinematography by Gerard Sterin . This French buddy-cop movie is lavishly produced by great producer and director Luc Besson and professionally directed by Gérard Krawczyk (Wasabi , Fanfan La Tulipe , Heroines) . The original titled Taxi (1998) by Gerard Pires was followed by three sequels : Taxi 2 (2000), Taxi 3 (2003) y Taxi 4 (2007) , most of them directed by Gerard Krawczyc and same actors and an American version with Queen Lafitah , Jimmy Fallon and directed by Tim Story . The flick will appeal to adrenaline lovers and those young people looking for amusing and strong emotions . It's a must see for the cars buffs and Taxi series enthusiasts .

• Surprisingly not bad!

  grillie2005-04-11

  Just finished watching all three Taxi movies. I liked Taxi 1, 'meh'ed at Taxi 2, and (thinking that a trend has begun and that Taxi 3 would suck so bad), I found myself laughing a LOT at Taxi 3... The jokes were funny and unexpected. The little throwaway gag of a policeman on a bicycle and his partner running beside him was made even funnier by how the politicians/ministers commented on it. Other jokes: The pregnancy test! The torture! The hidden 8 month pregnancy! Bai Ling! (actually, she wasn't too bad) Acting seemed more natural or at least more in character in this movie. The caricatures of Daniel, Lilly and Emilien were better defined with a real sense of camaraderie between Daniel and Emilien. Their scenes together have them really playing off each other. I did notice a little "Are they JUST friends?" vibe in Taxi 2 and their "We're going from friends to Daddies together!" scene totally made fun of the homo eroticism (or whatever it was I imagined)! Also, it was interesting how Lilly evolved from a 2D romantic interest in Taxi 1 to a phone-no-sex-buddy in Taxi 2 to a nagging but still loving girlfriend here (and she finally gets to sit in the TAXI!). The inspector just cracks me up with his soft, too-calm "Emilien" after the Santa Claus suit incident. This was so much funnier than a screaming "Emmmmeeeeellliienn!" And his key words! "Concertation. Reflexion. Action!" with the perfect gestures and arm-pumping motion. (Question: I thought the inspector hated all foreigners? So why the Bai Ling crush?) And who knew Alain (the token French black dude) was so funny! hehe, "I'm used to it." Funny facial expressions. Kinda glad they showed a little more of him in this film. All three movies were very well paced for action comedies. Right number of laughs and heart stopping scenes! The actors seemed to have fun in this one and you can really feel it. I didn't even mind that Samy Naceri looks ridiculously old (since the first one where he was 37!) because he just IS cocky yet charming Daniel and no one else can replace him. If you have this on DVD, make sure to watch the "Making of" special feature because seriously, how does the car miss the little camera in the middle of the road?! Video Games Influence: "Crazy Taxi" AND "Jet Grind Radio" (and a little bit of "Burnout") hee!