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Movies / On DVD / Transporter 3
Transporter 3

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Transporter 3 (2008)

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38 %
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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.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:05-12-2008

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

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Transporter 3

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat
2/5

Chris Hewitt (UK)

Incoherent and inconsistent, this is a step back for Statham in his quest to become more than a cult figure.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 07:06 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
4/6

Derek Adams

The flashy editing gets on one’s wick and no one’s going to win an Oscar – but, really, who’s complaining? This is straight-up fisticuff fun.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 06:54 AM

Time Out

splat
2/5

Daniel Etherington

With its eco-trappings, car chases and fights, the film feels very sub-Quantum Of Solace. The fact that Quantum itself felt very sub-Bourne says even less for Transporter 3. Even if you're a Statham fan, this series is starting to feel tired.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 06:25 AM

Channel 4 Film

splat
2/5

James Christopher

Transporter 3 is a reassuringly beefy thriller in which Jason Statham has to drive very fast across Eastern Europe with a Ukranian beauty queen on the seat beside him. No one, including Jason, has the slightest clue why. Never mind.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 06:07 AM

Times [UK]

splat
2/5

Peter Bradshaw

Statham is a relatively entertaining action hero - though he is better in the Crank films. The script is by Besson, but the director is Olivier Megaton, whose surname is the most exciting thing about the film.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 05:51 AM

Guardian [UK]

splat
2/5

David Gritten

Luc Besson's modestly-budgeted but wildly successful franchise shows signs of broadening to include romance and humour.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 05:18 AM

Daily Telegraph

splat
2/5

Tim Evans

The most impressive thing on offer is Statham’s straight face…but why the sadistic Besson forced him through a romantic clinch in the Ukrainian equivalent of the Cotswolds is anybody’s guess.

Full Review Source: | comment 1 Comment | Dec., 05 2008 04:46 AM

Sky Movies

tomato
3/5

Christopher Tookey

Transporter 3 is going to make an awful lot of money. It has in abundance the ingredient that was missing from the last Bond film: a sense of its own idiocy.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 04:15 AM

Daily Mail [UK]

tomato
3/5

Mark Adams

It is a full-throttle action film which works best if you leave your brain at the door... and there's nothing wrong with that!

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 04:04 AM

Daily Mirror [UK]

tomato
3/5

Slowing the pace for romance is also a bad idea because it gives the audience the chance to spot plot holes bigger than Iceland’s debt. But when he sticks to car chases, explosions and chest-kicking action, Statham delivers.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 04:02 AM

Sun Online

splat
2/5

Anthony Quinn

This action "threequel" is directed by a gentleman named Megaton, so one should not expect subtlety.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 03:38 AM

Independent

tomato
4/5

Matthew Turner

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 02:56 AM

ViewLondon

splat
2.5/5

Rich Cline

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 05 2008 02:32 AM

Shadows on the Wall

splat
4/10

Victor Olliver

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.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 04 2008 03:52 AM

Teletext

splat

Tim Grierson

A perfunctory action film which drives around in noisy circles but goes nowhere.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 19 2008 10:54 AM

Screen International

splat
2/4

Sonny Bunch

Transporter 3 is the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy: a quick sugar rush that melts in your mouth and is forgotten five minutes later.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 30 2009 03:29 PM

Washington Times

tomato
3.5/5

Simon Weaving

A preposterous, over the top and entertaining return of Frank Martin, the courier who delivers anything without question. Forget the ludicrous plot and just sit back and enjoy the fight and driving sequences.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 21 2009 06:19 PM

Screenwize

tomato

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Most film trilogies usually drop the ball on the third entry, but if you want to see it done right, check out the fun, unpretentious Transporter 3.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 20 2009 09:04 PM

Combustible Celluloid

tomato
3/5

Eddie Cockrell

Though director Olivier Megaton exhibits a good bit of that annoyingly jagged editing that's become all the rage in action films, he has the good sense to never cut away from Statham's pecs.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 13 2009 04:33 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

tomato

Louise Keller

The good thing about Transporter 3 is that you know exactly what to expect. There's reluctant hero Jason Statham, a deadly villain, exotic European locations, car chases, hot action and .. of course there's a girl

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 06 2009 11:14 PM

Urban Cinefile

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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