I’ve not seen the other Transporter films. I guess I’m just culturally deprived. However, this third entry was a brainless action film that I actually had a good time watching. Sure I had to roll my eyes a couple of times, but I put my brain into neutral and just went along for the ride.
Frank Martin (Jason Stratham) has all but retired from the transporting business. He’s living the live of leisure and fishing with his old pal Inspector Tarconi (Francois Berleand).
His reputation is still known far and wide and some time before he was approached by some thugs who wanted him to transport, but he offered the name of an alternative and said that he didn’t want the job. Of course, they wanted to play rough and Frank was happy to oblige them and he didn’t take the job.
Frank’s napping one evening in his “retirement” home when a car crashes through the wall. He finds Malcolm (David Atrakchi) behind the steering wheel, the man who he recommended for the job. He calls an ambulance but Malcolm can only mumble about not wanting to get out of the car before he passes out. The ambulance arrives and Malcolm is taken away. Frank then finds Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) in the back of the car and realizes that she’s wearing an electronic bracelet and can’t leave the car.
He tries to rescue Malcolm but by the time he runs out of the house the ambulance is too far away and explodes. Frank is then knocked out by Valentina and awakens to find that now he’s wearing a bracelet too.
His new client Johnson (Robert Knepper) has now forced him to take the job of transporting cargo across Europe along with Valentina. Meanwhile, some nasty types are trying to force environmentalist Minister Vasilev (Jeroen Krabbe, reminding me much of Al Gore here) to sign some papers allowing nuclear waste to be take off of some ships and Frank’s cargo is going to play a vital role in bribing the minister to sign the paperwork.
Transporter the third is my first trip into the Transporter franchise. Jason Stratham has made a career out of playing these tough guy roles and I didn’t have much quarrel with his portrayal, he’s got it down to a science by now.
The plot isn’t exactly one that is going to surprise anyone. I saw what the nature of Frank’s cargo was going to be from the beginning. There are also some “buddy comedy” tropes between Frank and Valentina that we’ve all seen before. Time to shift brain into neutral, grinds gears (ouch!).
Even with all of these familiar plotlines, I still enjoyed the ride. Sure, there are some real doozies, such as Frank’s car getting submerged, him tinkering with it, and it running perfectly again.
I’m really beginning to like this Stratham chap and enjoy his seemingly self effacing way of playing these action flicks. There’s a trailer for Crank 2 that looks like a fun, brainless ride too.
Natalya Rudakova grates at first as the gloomy co-passenger, but grew on me as the film progressed. Robert Knepper plays the bad guy as if trained in Villain 101, but there was an amusing moment later in the film where he confessed to being a pacifist that I enjoyed.
Transporter 3 is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary from director Olivier Megaton (real name Olivier Fontana). The 13 minute “Special Delivery” looks at real life transporters. Next is the 16 minute “Making of Transporter 3,” 3 minutes of storyboard comparison, 2 minutes on visual effects, 2 minutes on sets, and the 1 minute theatrical trailer. Disc two is a digital copy of the film for your PC or portable device.
Transporter 3 is nothing original but it fires on all cylinders once it gets going. Your mileage may vary according to your model, but I thought it was a fun, brainless action flick and liked the way that Stratham growled through his role.
Transporter 3 (Two-Disc Fully Loaded Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an April 20th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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