This action "threequel" is directed by a gentleman named Megaton, so one should not expect subtlety.
Transporter 3 (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:104
Fresh:39
Rotten:65
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: This middling installment in the Transporter franchise is a few steps down from its predecessors, featuring generic stunts and a lack of energy.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Feb 5, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $31,316,973
Synopsis: Combining Western-style car chases and Hong Kong-inspired fight sequences choreographed by martial arts legend Cory Yuen, the Luc Besson-created TRANSPORTER films have found international success... Combining Western-style car chases and Hong Kong-inspired fight sequences choreographed by martial arts legend Cory Yuen, the Luc Besson-created TRANSPORTER films have found international success as a sort of working-class James Bond series. Jason Statham, who has become the go-to guy for big-budget B-movie thrills, returns once again as Frank Martin, the driver-for-hire for whom no job is too risky. Brimming with the usual jaw-dropping stunts, this is another crowd-pleasing entry in the saga, delivered at a brisk and flashy clip by director Olivier Megaton. Following the coercion of Ukrainian environmental official Leonid Vasilev (Jeroen Krabbe) into signing papers permitting the shipping of toxic materials into a harbor by criminal mastermind Johnson (Robert Knepper), Frank Martin is forced into accepting the job of driving Vasilev's kidnapped daughter, Valentina (Natalya Rudakova)--acting as human collateral--from Marseilles to the Black Sea coastal city of Odessa. On the chance the Martin should attempt to flee, Johnson has rigged him with a bracelet that will detonate if he strays more than 75 feet from his car. When Valentina is intercepted by a rival group, Martin will have to push his Audi M8 to the limit to complete his mission and ensure his own survival. The TRANSPORTER films require copious amounts of suspension of disbelief, but then again, one doesn't hope they will strictly adhere to the laws of physics. The third volume provides ample thrills, not the least of which is the sight of a car driving off a bridge onto a moving train. Plenty of screen time is also given to Statham's superhumanly chiseled torso, while freckled Rudakova's unconventional beauty balances out the sex appeal. In the end, Statham's undeniable likeability propels the film, and his chemistry in a handful of scenes with François Berleand, returning as Inspector Tarconi, provides some nice comic moments. [More]
Starring: Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, Francois Berleand, Natalya Rudakova
Starring: Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, Francois Berleand, Natalya Rudakova, Jeroen Krabbe, Alex Kobold, David Atrakchi, Yann Sundberg, Eriq Ebouaney, David Kammenos, Silvio Simac
Director: Olivier Megaton
Director: Olivier Megaton
Screenwriter: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Producer: Luc Besson, Steven Chasman
Composer: Alexandre Azaria
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Transporter 3
Enjoyably ridiculous thriller, in which plot logic and characterisation are gleefully ignored in favour of jaw-dropping action sequences, superb fight scenes and Statham's brilliantly deadpan performance.
Besson and Kamen somehow make a film that's even dumber than part 2.... But they've still got the superbly watchable Statham at the centre, so the script is fairly irrelevant.
Every bit as dumb as its predecessors, but - importantly - it is not nearly so much fun.
Speeded-up motion camera tics add to overall jerkiness - and a series of coincidences and unexplained comings and goings leave you thinking that Besson is impatient with actual story-telling. Fantasy thugs may relish this no-brainer actioner.
Forget the Oscar bait, Transporter 3 is the only movie you need to see this season.
I had less problems with the characters and more trouble with the actual action, which felt really antiseptic to me.
Valentina is angry and resigned and just-so-adorably exotic, in the sense that she misses nuance and inverts English syntax ("What matters my name?").
Jason Statham has become a kind of poor man's James Bond but if you're expecting a coherent plot, forget it. There isn't one. Just action sequences that often lack continuity.
Check your intellect at the door for some raucous movie fun. Statham's deadpan charm and rough and tumble alpha male swagger prove he's loving every minute of being the last action hero left
It's insane, it's ridiculous, it's way over the top, and while it might not be the best in the franchise, it mostly delivers what its target audience wants.
Jason Statham preforms more implausible derring-do as a butt-stomping, daredevil driver for hire.
This is a silly film, but all martial arts films are silly. What sets this apart is that it doesn't take itself seriously for even a nanosecond.
the action scenes are cut so tight that it's nearly impossible to tell what's going on
We get close-ups, awkward camera movements, speed-up/slow-down nonsense, and shots with missing frames. I had to look away a few times because I thought I was going to have a seizure. This was NOT a fun movie to watch.
While it will no doubt end up being a let down even for the die hardest of fans, the film does contain a couple of interesting thrills here and there.
Transporter 3 delivers precisely the same thrills as the first two installments. Take that as a warning - or an invitation.
A pointless, junky, lackadaisical product that should hopefully put the kibosh on another sequel.
I think by now even Jason Statham is getting a little bored with the over-the-top stunts and martial-arts action of producer/writer Luc Bessons franchise -- if only the money werent so good.
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