Taxi (1998)
★★★ — Taxi (1998)
Taxi was written and produced by Luc Besson at a point when he was actively building what would become EuropaCorp into a factory for high-concept, fast-moving French genre pictures. Having directed The Fifth Element the year before, Besson stepped back from the chair here and handed directing duties to Gérard Pirès, a veteran of French commercial cinema whose career stretched back to the 1960s. Shot largely on location in Marseille, the film arrived during a mid-to-late 1990s moment when French studio cinema was consciously trying to compete with Hollywood blockbusters on pace and spectacle. It was a considerable box office success, earning well over five times its budget, and launched a franchise that ran to four sequels. It also features an early screen credit for Marion Cotillard, several years before she became a name anyone outside France would recognise.
Taxi (1998) is pure French B-movie joy. It's ridiculous, over-the-top, and driven by the kind of high-speed insanity that only Luc Besson could greenlight. It’s not good in the traditional sense, but it’s fun in a “how is this even possible?” kind of way. The plot is a Marseille cab driver with lightning reflexes (Samy Naceri) teams up with an unhinged, flat-footed police officer (Frédéric Diefenthal) to catch a gang of German bank robbers using his souped-up Peugeot 406. Yes, really. The car chases are the undisputed stars. Insane, physics-defying, and shot with real flair. Narrow alleyways, oncoming traffic, buses, tunnels, you name it, this taxi plows through it and the energy never lets up. It’s like The Italian Job remixed with Cannonball Run and a shot of Gauloises smoke. That said, it’s got flaws. The humour is broad, often silly, and sometimes veers into cringe. The dialogue is clunky, the acting is serviceable at best, and the whole thing runs on sheer audacity rather than logic or character depth. But if you’re in the mood for something loud, fast, and utterly French, it’s hard not to get swept up in its charm. Flawed, ridiculous, but packed with adrenaline and heart. Not a classic, not cinema, but a cult gem for anyone who loves cars going way too fast in all the wrong directions. Taxi doesn’t need to make sense. It just needs to go. And boy, does it go.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 1998 | Watched: 2025-10-18
Where to watch (UK)
Physical: Amazon UK
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