Transporter 3 (2008)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Transporter 3
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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Incoherent and inconsistent, this is a step back for Statham in his quest to become more than a cult figure. Full Review |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Luc Besson's modestly-budgeted but wildly successful franchise shows signs of broadening to include romance and humour. Full Review |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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This action "threequel" is directed by a gentleman named Megaton, so one should not expect subtlety. Full Review |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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A perfunctory action film which drives around in noisy circles but goes nowhere. Full Review |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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