Taxi Brooklyn Review

Hey People,

So I decided to try the new summer show Taxi Brooklyn, which is based on the movie Taxi. This is a rare show as in it's a French-American collaboration, but the genre is a familiar one--police procedural. This is unprecedented for me, but this is the first time I had to quit a show because of the directing/editing. Let me explain.

Summary: Girl is a detective who can't retain a partner for more than 5 minutes and she's a bad driver. The Captain tells her she can't drive and it just so happens she's booking a taxi driver for a case she's working on. The rest, as they say, is history.

All you have to do is watch the first 10 minutes of this show to know what I'm talking about. No shot holds for more than 5 seconds. I thought I was high on drugs. My brain couldn't keep up with my eyes and by the time they figured it out, another shot would have appeared. I thought I might have been the only one who was experiencing it, but it turns out I'm not. And it's not just the first episode that this happens. I read a comment on the 3rd episode about how the editor for this show needs to be fired.
Funny story is the way it was shot reminded me of Transporter and it turns out Olivier Megaton directed the pilot of Taxi Brooklyn and also Transporter 3. I don't mind shaky cameras so I know that had nothing to do with it. Now, I know I might get shot for this but I think Transporter 3  is the best in the series or just as good as the first. The 2nd one was horrible to me. Anyway, I thought to myself I didn't think the 3rd addition to the series was sore on the eyes so I decided to do an experiment. I went back and watched Transporter 3. It was fast at some parts, but nothing crazy like this pilot episode. And Transporter 3 has it harder too because it has fighting scenes and racing scenes. So maybe this show just has an editing problem.

If I wasn't so focused on the shooting of this show, I might have payed more attention to the actual plot and characters. Yes, that's how distracting it was for me. This show tries to do what shows like Castle (law enforcer and writer) and Bones (law enforcer and archaeologist) are known for. However, it's not even close to being on their level. I don't know if it's because they lack the will they, won't they and I'm not even sure that's what the writers are going for but I clearly got the friend vibe from them when watching. Although, this could change in the future. But the reason why I bring up the will they, won't they is because of the chemistry that brews off of it. Now, not all crime shows have romance between the two leads--Almost Human (R.I.P.)--but even then, the chemistry is still there. It's just not romantic. This show just didn't have any of that.

I really wish I did like this show because I love hearing French, which is rare to hear on US television. So I'll definitely remember Jacky Ido. Chyler Leigh, I've known since Not Another Teen Movie, but she is most known for her role on Grey's Anatomy. (Side note, I love her hair, but wish it was darker like in this poster. But this girl can rock short, shoulder length, or long. I prefer her shoulder length though.) Also stars, Jennifer Esposito from Samantha Who? (Side note, Esposito also played in the remake of Taxi), Ally Walker from Sons of Anarchy, and José Zúñiga from various shows. Zúñiga has that I know you from somewhere face because he's been on a ton of shows.

Judgement: If you can make it pass the 10th minute mark without getting a headache, then keep going until the end of the episode and judge for yourself if it's worthy of your time.

Luv ya,
           Diva

P.S. It hasn't been confirmed if NBC will renew this show yet; however, it was renewed by TC1 (French channel) so there definitely will be another season.