Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In Marseilles a skilled pizza delivery boy Daniel who drives a scooter finally has his dreams come true. He gets a taxi license. Caught by the police for a huge speed infraction, he will help Emilien, a loser inspector who can't drive, on the track of German bank robbers, so he doesn't lose his license and his dream job.
Taxi (1998) is a breezy French action-comedy that benefits from a fun, energetic premise and a likable odd-couple dynamic between the speed-demon taxi driver Daniel and the hapless inspector Emilien. The plot is serviceable but fairly thin — a comedic chase film with German robbers as the MacGuffin — held together more by momentum and charm than by storytelling craft. Acting is broadly comedic and functional but rarely elevates the material. Cinematography is workmanlike, though the car chase sequences have a kinetic, crowd-pleasing energy typical of Luc Besson-produced fare. Novelty is modest: the Marseille setting and Besson's slick populist formula give it a distinctive French flair, but it's not a groundbreaking concept. The ending delivers the expected crowd-pleasing resolution without much surprise.