Taxi 4 (2007)

French success d'estime Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita) follows up his children's fantasy Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) with this high-adrenaline, action-charged crime comedy that he produced and scripted but did not direct. At the heart of the tale is a nitwit Marseilles cop, Police Commissioner Gilbert (Bernard Farcy), prone to making outrageous blunders such as mistaking soccer star Djibril Cisse (in a cameo) for an illegal immigrant, and a hotel chambermaid for a terrorist. The other major member of the force is ... Read More

French success d'estime Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita) follows up his children's fantasy Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) with this high-adrenaline, action-charged crime comedy that he produced and scripted but did not direct. At the heart of the tale is a nitwit Marseilles cop, Police Commissioner Gilbert (Bernard Farcy), prone to making outrageous blunders such as mistaking soccer star Djibril Cisse (in a cameo) for an illegal immigrant, and a hotel chambermaid for a terrorist. The other major member of the force is Emilien (Frederic Diefenthal), a hard-working soul, yet one perhaps too genial to be a cop. He's best friends with taxicab driver Daniel (Samy Naceri), an individual low-key to the point of anemia; their young sons enjoy playing together. As the tale opens, a manically insane, hyperactive Belgian criminal, "La Belge," (Jean-Luc Couchard) undergoes extradition to trial in Africa; en route, he temporarily lands in the Marseilles police department for a few hours and bamboozles Emilien into believing that he's actually a Belgian embassy employee railroaded by the real crook, who is now at large. Emilien foolishly buys the story and sets La Belge free -- prompting an outrageous and explosive series of complications. Meanwhile, Emilien's achingly beautiful wife (sex symbol Emma Sjoberg-Wyklund) has been assigned to infiltrate La Belge's gang on an undercover level -- so far undercover that Emilien himself isn't even aware of her role. Upon release, Taxi 4 shot to the top of the French box office charts to qualify as a local blockbuster, topping numerous American releases in the process. Nathan Southern, Rovi Read Less