Frank Martin (Transporter)

Frank Martin
First appearance The Transporter (2002)
Last appearance The Transporter Refueled (2015)
Created by Luc Besson
Robert Mark Kamen
Portrayed by Jason Statham (1–3)
Ed Skrein (reboot)
Chris Vance (TV series)
Information
Aliases Driver
Transporter
Gender Male
Occupation Wheelman
Mercenary
Special Forces Soldier (formerly)
Title The Transporter
Family Frank Martin Sr. (father)

Frank Martin is the protagonist of the Transporter films and television series, created by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.

He initially serves as a reluctant hero. He is portrayed as a former Special Forces operative who was a team leader of a search and destroy unit. His military background includes operations "in and out of" Lebanon, Syria and Sudan. He retires from this after becoming fatigued and disenchanted with his superior officers. In simple terms, he got tired of seeing his best efforts turned to nothing by the same people paying him to do the job, so he puts his skills to action as a private driver for hire.

Background

His country of origin is unclear -- throughout the franchise, Statham seems to speak with a Mid-Atlantic accent, mixing his own Estuary English accent with a European and also with perhaps a generic Appalachian American accent, suggesting he could be European, British or American, but who may have spent considerable time in another country. In The Transporter, Frank Martin is shown to have received the Bronze Star.

Frank has already established a good reputation in his secondary, secretive line of work, all the while maintaining an apparently legitimate life living off of his army pension. However he did manage to attract the suspicions of the police in France, where he had been living quietly in an old place on the coast.

Attributes and abilities

Possibly through his military background, Frank is portrayed as having expertise with explosives, surveillance, hand-to-hand combat and evasive driving. Emphasis is given to his skills as an accomplished driver, able to conduct seemingly impossible maneuvers while retaining perfect control of his vehicle. Frank often engages in hand-to-hand combat, having to improvise using unconventional weapons against his opponents. Martin is also an accomplished sharpshooter.

Rules

Frank Martin carries out his business according to strict rules,[1] which he is loath to break, and expects his clients to adhere to them or face a breach of contract. His rules are:

  1. "Never change the deal"
  2. "No names"
  3. "Never open the package"
    (these first 3 are also mentioned in the TV Series)
  4. "Never make a promise you can't keep"

While at first these rules may seem unnecessarily strict, their importance is illustrated when Frank is hired to transport three men, but four arrive, straight from a bank heist. Explaining to them that The Deal was for a precise number of passengers with specific weight and that fuel and suspension were specifically set to reach the destination, the gang is forced to remove their extra man or face being caught.

Frank's breaking of his own rules is the central theme in The Transporter.

Rules of the car:

  1. "Respect a man's car, and the man will respect you"
  2. "Greet the man"
  3. "Seat belt"
  4. "Never drink coffee in the car"
    and, in the third film,
  5. "If you take care of the car, the car will take care of you"

Appearance

Frank Martin maintains a uniform of sorts, consisting of a black suit, white shirt, and a black tie. He wears Panerai Chronograph watches as well, utilizing a PAM 74 in the first film, a PAM 196H in the 2nd film, and a PAM 212 in the 3rd film. Martin also puts great emphasis on precise timing and punctuality. He regularly maintains anonymity from his clients, going by the aliases Transporter, or more simply Driver, in accordance with his 2nd rule.

Cars

Throughout the films and television series, Frank Martin has been portrayed driving these cars:

References

  1. ↑ Plot summary for The Transporter
  2. ↑ 2010 Audi A8 TDI quattro D4 [Typ 4H] in "Transporter: The Series, 2012-2013". IMCDb.org. Retrieved on 2014-02-01.
  3. ↑ Audi A8 to star in new Transporter TV series. Autoblog. Retrieved on 2014-02-01.

External links

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