Jason Statham returns as hardman Frank Martin, an ex-Special Force agent where his duty includes delivering packages without questioning. In this third instalment, Frank who has just relocated to Paris, awakes to find himself with a bomb strapped to his wrist - one which threatens to blow up should he try to remove it.
by minxiu
on 16/01/2009 0 of 1 people found this review helpful
What I loved most: The bicycle/car chase
What I really hated: The romance subplot
The first two movies concentrated on ridiculous (and ridiculously fun) action sequences with the skimpiest excuses for plots. This one tries to have more of a plot and emphasis on characterization - but ironically, it's the worst of the lot because of this, because the "ridiculously fun" quotient is dialed down. And honestly, the love subplot is just painful to watch, with equally painful dialogue.
Like the armoured Audi A8 W12 that Frank Martin drives, this franchise never looked better.
In fact, the flawed "Transporter 3" even has a few one-ups over the other British actioner we had earlier, the stylish but unfulfilling "Quantum Of Solace". In this third instalment of Luc Besson's story about a one-man GPS for the mob, Jason Statham seems to have developed more muscles to compliment the bizarre driving skills that he has. He could manoevre a BMX to outrun a car! Screw the Hennessey man and forget James Bond - if quieter drivers like Jason Statham and say, Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" can bag chicks like Natalya Rudakova and Naomi Watts, then by all means go for it!
Variety writes that Statham has that sort of retro machismo we don't get these days in modern action films. For one, his onscreen chemistry with the freckled Ukrainian beauty always passes off as watchable and fun, although slightly stretched. That's more than one can say about what Olga Kurylenko did for Daniel Craig. Frank Martin's father-son camaraderie between Inspector Tarconi (Francois Berleand) is also more fun than Bond's relationship with Judi Dench's M, although not as substantial.
The plot is always an afterthought in films like this. All that is required is a semi-believable excuse to put yet another Eastern European chick in a car with an unfazed no-nonsense British agent; and get them into stylish misadventures for more than 90 minutes. Perhaps the movie is more of a vehicle for the vehicle (as in the Audi), instead of the lead actor, because some of the things that car does is simply ridiculous!
Never mind that. Frank's kung fu scenes seem a little preposterous too. He seems to have caught a few old Jackie Chan DVDs lying around, what with all those fabric-assisted twists and turns. We had fun, we're not complaining.
Now for the fourth, can we have a plane maybe?
Production Photos - Click thumbnail for larger photos
