Transporter 3 (2008)

Director:

Olivier Megaton

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen (written by) ...

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

This time, the rules are the same. Except one.

Plot:

Frank Martin puts the driving gloves on to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina's safe delivery and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his dangerous objective.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Toxic Waste | Loss Of Friend | Mascara Running | Shot In The Chest

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jason Statham	...	Frank Martin
Natalya Rudakova	...	Valentina
François Berléand	...	Inspector Tarconi
Robert Knepper	...	Johnson
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Leonid Vasilev
Alex Kobold	...	Leonid's Aide
David Atrakchi	...	Malcom Manville
Yann Sundberg	...	Flag
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Ice
David Kammenos	...	Driver Market
Silvio Simac	...	Mighty Joe
Oscar Relier	...	Thug / Driver
Timo Dierkes	...	Otto
Igor Koumpan	...	Cop Ukraine
Paul Barrett	...	Captain

Also Known As:

Le transporteur 3 (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English | French | Ukrainian | Russian | Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44805) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | France:U | India:UA (cinema release) | Malaysia:18SG | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Czech Republic:12 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:12 | Australia:M | Spain:18 | Taiwan:R-12 | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:13V | New Zealand:M | Finland:K-13 | Argentina:13 | Mexico:B15 | Brazil:16 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

The car that Frank drives is an Audi A8 a with a 6.0 liter W12 engine. The engine is derived from the Bentley Continental GT. The W12 engine was made by Volkswagen.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Frank drives the Audi between the two trucks on its left two wheels at high speed, the other two wheels roll along the side of one of the trucks smoothly: this is impossible to achieve since the difference in speed (in relation to the surface driven on) between the left and right side of the car would be too large for the differential gears to compensate for.

Quotes:

Johnson: [Valentina sees Frank's car racing alongside the train and smiles] What's so funny?
Valentina: Hearing a dead man talking.

Movie Connections:

References "The Apprentice" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Texas (SebastiAn Remix)

Not such a special delivery this time around.

Jason Statham returns once again as Frank Martin, the ex-Special Forces hard nut who now takes on special jobs that he and his super duper lovely car can always just manage to complete. He makes the impossible possible and does it with style and, usually, his shirt off.

I was going to try and write my standard review here (plot, discussion of highlights, acting, etc) but there really is no point because everything here is just an excuse to either film fast car action, Jason Statham or anything that has to link between fast car action and Jason Statham.

Sometimes I get a little bit annoyed when movies don't stay within the parameters of their own logic or make clear what the rules of their particular cinematic universe are but when everything is done so ridiculously and with such exuberance as it is here then there really is no choice but to hate the entire movie or buckle up and enjoy the ride. I chose the latter and had a lot of fun.

The movie is really all Statham but Robert Knepper (best known to many recently from his role in "Prison Break") makes for a charismatic baddie and everyone else turns up to punch, be punched or admire Statham. It was also nice to see François Berléand returning in the role of Inspector Tarconi even if he wasn't given that much to do.

Director Olivier Megaton may not live up to his surname but certainly gives you just enough bang for your buck to keep you happy. Astonishingly, despite the ridiculousness of many moments it STILL comes across as more believable than the second movie which means that fans should be pleased while they munch some popcorn and leave their brains disengaged.

See this if you like: The Transporter, Transporter 2, xXx.