Eunice Li
With shirtless fight scenes, passionate kisses and a tantalising strip tease – Transporter 3 is obviously written with the ladies in mind.
Jason Statham returns as the daredevil deliveryman, Frank Martin, in the third installment of the Transporter series. Coaxed out of retirement by an unnamed criminal mastermind, he’s pressured into driving the freckled bargaining chip, Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) from city to city (to keep her from being rescued), while negotiations take place.
To complicate matters, and recreate the tension of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed, exploding bracelets are strapped to the duo to ensure they stay within 75 feet of the vehicle. If you are wondering about toilet stops, Valentina is denied a much needed wee because the washroom was out of range.
The space constraints also provide the much-needed explanation for the fancy footwork, amazing chase sequences and explosive action that the Transporter franchise stands for. Look out for the creative methods Frank devises to help him stay within range, while he dodges hired guns, outwits a criminal mastermind and prevents the onset of an ecological disaster.
Despite the conceptual flaws and lapses in logic, Transporter 3 remains a 100-minute long action-packed extravaganza. No one quite gets why the villain is this adamant about hiring Frank for the job (in his own words, “any idiot with a driver’s license will do”), but throw in a dynamic fight scene and gripping car chases, and the plot becomes secondary.
Director Olivier Megaton also demonstrated some excellent and heavyweight cinematic directions. He takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster ride as the scenes transition seamlessly between high octane and low-key.
Megaton opens the movie with Frank Martin and friend, Tarconi (Francois Berleand) on a boat far out at sea, then cuts to a high-speed car chase that’s happening simultaneously at an undisclosed location on ground. The back and forth of changing scenarios make for an impressive start to the movie.
The highlight for the film, however, is undoubtedly Statham, who seems to have developed more muscle mass since the last Transporter installment. His shirtless fight scenes will have all the ladies (and some men) in the audience gasping for air.
Newcomer Rudakova, on the other hand, falls flat in her role as the sultry seductress. Her Eastern European accent and broken English sounded forced, which resulted in some pretty awkward love scenes.
For all its faults, Transporter 3 is quite the quintessential date movie. For men, the violent engagements as well as fast cars will surely satisfy their appetite for action and adventure. For their partners, there’s Statham and his steel barn abs.
Finally, a thriller we women can actually appreciate.
UrbanWire gives Transporter 3 a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
Movie details
Release date: Jan 1
Language: English
Rating: TBA
Genre: Action
Starring: Jason Statham, Francois Berleand, Robert Knepper
Directed by: Olivier Megaton
Pictures courtesy of Festive Films