Transporter 3 Plot Breakdown
Frank Martin (Jason Statham), expert transporter and courier of all things legal and not, is enjoying a fine day off, fishing with his friend Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand), not too far from Frank's abode. Suddenly a radioed report of a dangerous, yet skilled driver driving a black high performance car through the local streets, is communicated as urgent, to Tarconi.
Knowing full well Frank isn't responsible this time (i.e. they are sitting in a boat together at the time the call comes through), Tarconi leaves to investigate. Later that evening, Frank is enjoying a dinner at home alone, when said black car crashes through his living room wall. A friend and fellow transporter, Malcolm, is at the wheel, and is dying quickly. As an ambulance takes Malcolm away, he and the ambulance explode, due to a state-of-the-art magnetic bracelet, which blows up, if the driver moves past 75 feet from the vehicle.
Frank is blindsided and knocked out, only to wake up in the care of the film's baddie, an American mercenary named Johnson (Robert Knepper), who had hired Malcolm to transport a young Ukrainian club kid named Valentina(Natalya Rudakova) from Point A to Point B, no questions asked (reflecting one of Frank's own rules).
Frank is then forced to take over in the unfinished task, having been fitted with a similar explosive device while unconcious, giving him no other alternative. During the long drive from France to Eastern Europe, he slowly unravels the reason he is carrying the poor damsel in distress: her father is the Ukrainian rep in charge of environmental protection, and is being blackmailed into signing an agreement allowing toxic waste into the country.
The film shows us the race against time, in ensuring the safety of the minister's daughter, before it's too late, forever dooming Ukraine.
Throw in some impressive car stunts, kick butt fight choreography by Hong Kong fight wiz Corey Yuen, and you have a Transporter sequel slightly different than before, but nonetheless worthy of its predecessors.
Transporter 3 Overall Analysis
In a manner similar to the previous entry in this film series (the first two installments having been directed by up and coming action director Louis Leterrier (see his summer film, The Incredible Hulk ), many of the more elaborate car stunts in this film are implausibly pleasant at best, yet not so far fetched as in the second film. This time around, the film is in the hands of new French director, Olivier Megaton.
(Note: In Transporter 2, Frank Martin had managed to find that the baddies secretly had secretly installed a bomb under the car he so holds dear in his missions. He then drove the car into an airborne spin, managing to nick the undercarriage of his car on an idle contstruction crane hook, removing the bomb, before landing safely on the other side.)This time around, Frank still manages to get himself out of harm's way, however (and let us keep this part vague, to not "blow" the surprise) the tricks he resorts to wouldn't even be realistic in a serious Bond film.
Despite this, Transporter 3 keeps the audiences riveted courtesy of incredible chase scenes, breakneck speed fight scenes (thanks to the aforementioned Corey Yuen), and non-stop action, with a side of romance.
Jason Statham still performs to the best of his ability, displaying his well honed martial arts prowess, and rough hewn charisma. His roughneck facade is offset by his comedic interactions with Berléand's Tarconi, who is back again for this latest installment, providing clever and dry wit, as comic relief.
The script is just what action audiences expect from seasoned French film guru Luc Besson, who revitalised the French action cinema genre in the 80's and 90's, with similar high octane hits such as La Femme Nikita, The Professional (aka Léon), Subway, and The Fifth Element. Relying on his tried, tested and true formula of focusing not necessarily on the cast, but on the chase at hand, Besson never fails to keep viewers in their seats, holding onto their armrests for dear life. His latest story echoes his own directorial works, guns, explosions and all.
Look for awesome location shooting, mostly filmed in and outside of Odessa, Ukraine, which is where the film's climactic finale takes place.
This film is recommended for fans of the first two films in the series, who felt hungry for more after Transporter 1, but weren't as impressed with the sequel. This film is to the point, tightly edited, and maximizes on Statham's role as leading action star of the new decade.
7.5 out of 10 for solid editing, fast paced action, incredible fight scenes, but still exagerrated car stunts
 |
