Taxi (1998 film)

Taxi (film)

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	1998
Founder	Luc Besson (screenplay), Gérard Pirès (director)
Products	Action comedy film

Taxi is a 1998 French action comedy film featuring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal, and Marion Cotillard. The screenplay was penned by Luc Besson, while direction was handled by Gérard Pirès. This film initiated the popular Taxi franchise, which expanded to include four follow-ups: Taxi 2 (2000), Taxi 3 (2003), Taxi 4 (2007), and Taxi 5 (2018).

Set against the backdrop of Marseille, the storyline centers on a bungling police officer who enlists the aid of a highly skilled taxi driver to apprehend a German criminal syndicate. The taxi driver's cooperation is driven by his desire to terminate an inconvenient living situation with the officer.

Plot

Daniel Morales, an adept driver based in Marseille, transitions from his delivery job to become a taxi operator, driving a white customized 1997 Peugeot 406 equipped with hidden racing enhancements.

Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec is an incompetent police inspector who has failed his driving test multiple times. He is tasked with pursuing a German gang responsible for a series of high-profile heists across Europe, utilizing red Mercedes-Benz 500E getaway vehicles. After a failed police raid allows the criminals to slip away, Émilien seeks Daniel’s assistance in exchange for reinstating his confiscated license.

Identifying the gang’s mechanic, Kruger, Daniel and Émilien stake out his workshop. During an interrogation attempt, Kruger opens fire and escapes. The gang employs a strategy of repainting their cars silver to evade police detection. When Émilien’s apartment is destroyed in an accidental fire, he moves in with Daniel. Daniel soon uncovers the repainting tactic and traces the gang to a racetrack. He challenges them to a race, wins, and this inspires Émilien to pursue a romantic relationship with police sergeant Petra.

Together, they devise a plan involving duplicated traffic light controls and coordinated communication with Daniel’s former delivery associates. During the gang’s next escape after a robbery, Daniel leads them onto an unfinished bridge, trapping them until law enforcement arrives.

After the criminals are apprehended, both Daniel and Émilien are awarded medals by the police commissioner. Émilien begins dating Petra, while Daniel competes in the French Grand Prix sponsored by Marseille Police.

Development

Luc Besson conceived the concept for this film in 1996 but was engaged with The Fifth Element, opting to serve as producer rather than director. After Gaumont declined involvement, Besson collaborated with Michèle and Laurent Pétin from ARP on an equal production partnership. Gérard Pirès, known for directing commercials including those for Peugeot, was chosen to direct despite not having directed a feature film in 15 years. Due to budget limitations, filming took place in Marseille and casting focused on relatively unknown actors, whom financiers such as Canal+ believed would resonate better with younger viewers and represent a promising investment. The main musical theme draws inspiration from Misirlou, a well-known Eastern Mediterranean melody.

Box office

The Taxi franchise stands as one of the most lucrative French film series. The original movie ranked as the fourth top-grossing film in France during its release year, drawing 6.4 million admissions and generating $39.3 million in revenue. It also achieved international success with 2.2 million admissions abroad and garnered substantial television audiences, attracting 12 million viewers on TF1.

Critical reception

Almar Haflidason of the BBC awarded the film a three-star rating out of five, describing it as enjoyable in terms of action sequences but expressing dissatisfaction with the screenplay. Scholarly evaluations emphasize that the series represents Luc Besson’s transition from directing to producing large-scale productions, with a deliberate emphasis on urban, post-industrial environments as strategic locations for cinematic investments.

Remake

An American version entitled Taxi was released in October 2004, starring Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon, and Gisele Bündchen; however, it was met with unfavorable critical feedback. Furthermore, a television series adaptation named Taxi Brooklyn premiered on NBC in August 2014.