Transporter 3

Olivier Megaton

BY Ian GormelyPublished Mar 27, 2009

If you're reading this then chances are you've already been won over by Jason Statham's rough and tumble English charm. Over the past decade, Statham has established himself as the modern day Michael Caine: a man's man with the raspy accent who breaks guys' necks and then fucks the girl, all in the same scene. It's a shtick he's damn good at and when done right, it's fun to watch. Unfortunately for all involved this third instalment in Luc Besson's Transporter series falls flat on all accounts. Like the previous two films, Statham's character (Frank Martin) gets himself into trouble while delivering a package for some unseemly character. This time out he's accompanied by a hot young vixen (Natalya Rudakova), the daughter of the head of Ukraine's EPA and the package Martin is being forced to deliver. Seems some nasty folk want a law signed that will allow them to dump some toxic waste. The big twist is that Martin and the girl are fixed with wristbands that will explode if they venture more than 75-feet away from the car. The first two movies in the franchise were hardly groundbreaking cinema but they were original within the limitations of the genre. The fight scenes in particular were noteworthy for their inventiveness. Here though, the edits have become so quick it's impossible to tell who's kicking whom in the face, and even then the fights are starting to become rehashes of the past. Further dragging down the DVD is an utter lack of extras. The double sided disc offers both full and widescreen versions of the film but the only bonus feature is a trailer. Last year's Wanted really raised the bar on stylized sex and violence, and next to that piece of trashy brilliance Transporter 3 is a snoozer. Let's hope the new Crank film is as ridiculous as its trailer.
(Maple)

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