Why the fifth installment of the French action franchise Taxi failed to impress critics
In short: Released in 2018, Taxi 5 attempted to revive a beloved French action-comedy series with a new cast and a high-stakes plot involving a stolen diamond. Despite the director's ambitions for a sequel, the film was universally panned, leaving fans and critics wondering if the franchise has finally run out of gas.
Directed by Franck Gastambide, Taxi 5 serves as the fifth entry in the long-running series, following 2007's Taxi 4. The story centers on Sylvain Marot, a high-performing Paris police inspector transferred to Marseille after a scandal involving the Mayor's wife. In Marseille, he is tasked by the former Commissaire Gibert with dismantling a criminal gang that utilizes high-speed Ferraris to commit robberies. To keep pace, Marot recruits Eddie Makhlouf, the nephew of the legendary taxi driver Daniel, to track down his uncle's iconic vehicle, which has been relocated to Morocco.
The plot follows a chaotic trajectory as the team attempts to thwart the theft of a diamond named Cassiopeia. The narrative features a series of high-speed chases, encounters with corrupt police officers, and a climactic pursuit involving a military drone and a yacht. Despite these action-heavy sequences, the film struggled to resonate with audiences. Critics were particularly harsh, with the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes recording a 0% approval rating from the five critics who reviewed it, assigning an average score of just 2 out of 10.
Commercially, the film faced significant challenges. Produced with a budget of €20.39 million, it generated only $35 million at the box office. Despite this underwhelming performance, Gastambide has expressed intentions to develop a sixth installment. The potential for a future film remains a subject of discussion, with original series actor Samy Naceri stating he would only return if the original team were reassembled, rather than appearing in a mere cameo. As of the 2018 Dinar Film Festival, actress Sabrina Ouazani confirmed that planning for a sixth film is underway, though specific details remain scarce.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Taxi 5
- Also: Wikidata — Taxi 5 · CC0
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