Review - Transporter 3

Frank Martin returns for a third installment in the Transporter series and this time he is forced to deliver the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian diplomat. Martin is fitted with a explosive bracelet that when activated, will blow up, if he travels further than 50 yards from his beloved Audi. Along the drive from Marseilles to Odessa Frank's growing emotions for Valentina test his ability to complete his delivery. In usual Transporter fashion, Martin must deal with various thugs and mobsters who seek to intercept Valentina, before he delivers the package and assures his survival.


Olivier Megaton takes the helm for the third Transporter and even though the script was still written by creator Luc Besson, Transporter 3 failed in invoking the same intensity and enjoyment that made the previous two worth watching. Megaton instead rehashes very similar territory from the previous two films in a less than compelling fashion that has the viewer uninterested by the end of the first act. Olivier Megaton's action sequences also are anything but exciting and provide nothing new to the Frank Martin series. Transporter 3 tries to intice with a romantic subplot, but it is ultimately weak and becomes tiresome doing more to take away from the film then helping it.

With the Transporter one expects titilating action that boggles the mind and raises our eye brows, but here in Transporter 3 we get mindless action that feels recycled and does nothing but force the viewer to shift in their seat with boredom. The majority of action sequences do more to create laughter than thrill and by the time Transporter 3 reaches it's improbable climax, the viewer is anything but interested. The final 20 minutes of the film are so distinctly terrible and ridiculous that it ultimately, becomes a chore to finish the feature.

Here in Transporter 3, Statham delivers in typical fashion his rugged and quiet fighter, but the story and action are so poorly executed that Statham's performance becomes dwarfed by the pitiful direction and story. Statham has a few highlights that remind us of why we grew so fond of the well dressed driver with 3 rules, but those highlights are overshadowed with an overall dreadful film. Jason Statham is on a real roll of stinkers lately and is in desperate need of a strong film. Death Race, Transporter 3, War and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale were all terrible. Luckily, Stathom had The Bank Job and Crank in there which reminded me why I like him so much.

Natalya Rudakova playing Valentina provokes memory of nails on a chalkboard with her performance. She portrays a nagging euro trash persona that is disasterous to the film. One positive to her performance, is she spends a good portion of the film asleep in the car, unable to further annoy. François Berléand luckily returns as Frank's liaison in the police force and like always, provides a few vital laughs to the otherwise disappointing film.

Transporter 3 was a big waste of time that really only deters from a solid action series. Olivier Megaton brought nothing new to the series and merely reused old concepts in a ineffective way that bored and torrmented the viewer. Finally, Megaton did succeed in one way, by creating a film that wont be apart of my Transporter collection.