''Taxi'' is a 2004 action comedy film directed by

Tim Story Timothy Kevin Story is an American film director. He is best known for '' Barbershop'' (2002), ''Fantastic Four'' (2005), and the ''Ride Along'' franchise. He has been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Directing in a Feature ...

and starring Queen Latifah,

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...

, Gisele Bündchen in her film debut,

Jennifer Esposito Jennifer Esposito (born April 11, 1973) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the feature films ''Summer of Sam'' (1999), ''Don't Say a Word'' (2001), ''The Master of Disguise'' (2002), ''Welcome to Collinwood'' (2002), ''Crash (2 ...

, and Ann-Margret. An incompetent New York City police officer is banned from driving and comes to rely on a talented taxi driver to help him solve a series of bank robberies. The film is a remake of the 1998 French film of the same name. The film is set in New York City. In the film, a demoted police detective convinces a taxicab driver to help him track down a Brazilian gang of bank robbers, and to find out how the gang transports the stolen money. The detective is soon fired for

insubordination Insubordination is the act of willfully disobeying a lawful order of one's superior. It is generally a punishable offense in hierarchical organizations such as the armed forces, which depend on people lower in the chain of command obeying orde ...

, but the duo proceed in confronting the gang. The film was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

on October 6, 2004 in the United States. The film was panned by critics.

Plot

Bicycle courier Bicycle messengers (also known as bike or cycle couriers) are people who work for courier companies (also known as messenger companies) carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business dist ...

Belle Williams earns her taxi license and installs a

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement (engine), displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically ...

in her custom-built 1999 Ford Crown Victoria taxicab. Her first customer offers her a $100 tip if she can make it to the Airport in fifteen minutes. She does, with incredible speed and skill in the process, maneuvering through the streets of New York City. Meanwhile, bumbling detective Andy Washburn crashes his partner's car while on a mission to apprehend a group of robbers, and is demoted to foot patrol duty by his boss Lt. Marta Robbins, who is also his ex-girlfriend. Hearing of a bank robbery, Washburn flags down Belle's taxicab. They arrive at the bank just as a quartet of female Brazilian robbers leave in a BMW E65. Belle recognizes them as models she saw earlier at the airport. Police arrive and mistakenly apprehend Belle and Washburn. Belle's cab is impounded, and she is questioned. Washburn promises to get her cab back if she helps him solve the bank robberies. Washburn takes Belle to his home after her boyfriend Jesse kicks her out for missing a dinner date. Washburn's constantly drunk mother brings up embarrassing moments of Washburn's past and talks about why he is such a bad driver. Washburn convinces the impound cop to return Belle's cab. They realize the gang robs banks just before the garbage collection is due, placing the money in the trash, which the garbage man then collects. Washburn is fired for disobeying orders, and Belle is given a final warning for reckless driving. Belle teaches Washburn to drive, and they discover the garbage collector is acting for the gang because they have kidnapped his wife. They recover the garbage collector's wife and all the loot. The police learn which bank is next to be hit and ambush the robbers, who take Lt. Robbins hostage and escape, followed by Washburn and Belle in her cab. Belle calls on the help of her bicycle courier friends to pinpoint the car. They negotiate a trade of the cash from the garbage truck for Robbins, and try to swap the hostage for the money while driving down the highway. Washburn forces the robbers down a long bridge under construction. The robbers' leader, Vanessa, fires her gun at them and wounds Belle. While the police arrest Vanessa, Washburn drives Belle to the hospital, singing " This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)". He crashes into the hospital, so Belle can be quickly recovered. Belle achieves her dream of driving in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

, sponsored by New York banks. Washburn is reinstated for foiling the robberies. Washburn's mother and Robbins attend Belle's first race to cheer her on. Jesse proposes to Belle. As Belle begins the race,

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...

pulls up as a challenger.

Cast

Reception

Box office

''Taxi'' was released on October 6, 2004, in 3,001 theaters and opened at #4 at the box office with $12 million in the opening weekend. It went on to gross $36.9 million domestically and $34.4 million from other markets for a worldwide total of $71.3 million, against a production budget of $25 million. The film was released in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2004, and opened on #5.

Critical response

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Mick LaSalle of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' wrote: "How one likes ''Taxi'' has everything to do with how one responds to the hapless cop character, played by Jimmy Fallon." LaSalle was also critical of the car chases, calling them "lackluster and fairly unconvincing." Kirk Honeycutt of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote: "This thoroughly repetitive, ill conceived and poorly executed effort—with an emphasis on the word 'effort'—defeats these two talented people more often than not." Robert Koehler of ''Variety'' called the film "embarrassing evidence that even a ragged French original can be better than its American remake. Failing to improve on the inept but hugely successful 1998 Luc Besson vehicle."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' states "Oh, this is a bad movie" and "only gets worse as it plows along." Megan Lehmann of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' dubbed the film "Taxi Drivel" and said: "This witless action comedy begins to insult the audience's intelligence from the opening scene." Claudia Puig of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' wrote: "A surprisingly funny, female-driven romp—as long as you don't question too many plot particulars."

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taxi (2004 Film) 2000s American films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s buddy cop films 2000s chase films 2000s English-language films 2000s French films 2000s heist films 2000s police comedy films 2004 action comedy films 2004 crime comedy films 2004 films 20th Century Fox films Action film remakes African-American films American action comedy films American buddy comedy films American buddy cop films American chase films American crime comedy films American heist films American remakes of French films Comedy film remakes Crime film remakes English-language action comedy films English-language buddy comedy films English-language crime comedy films English-language French films English-language thriller films EuropaCorp films Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about bank robbery Films about taxis Films about the New York City Police Department Films based on works by Luc Besson Films directed by Tim Story Films produced by Luc Besson Films scored by Christophe Beck Films set in New York City Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Jim Kouf French action comedy films French buddy comedy films French crime comedy films French heist films Remakes of French films Taxi (film series)