Frank Martin (Jason Statham) and Johnson (Robert Knepper) in Transporter 3. Photo: Magali Bragard.
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Transporter 3 (PG-13) ***
Colin Covert, McClatchy News Service
Testosterone-pumping action scenes, cardboard romance, manly banter -- what more does a fanboy need, or want? The Transporter films polished those ingredients to slick commercial success in two go-rounds of shamelessly schematic simplicity. Transporter 3 follows much the same road map.
Marseilles-based deliveryman Frank Martin (Jason Statham) will deliver any package anywhere in Europe that can be reached by his supercharged Audi sedan. Once again, he follows three ironclad rules: no questions, no names, no peeking into the parcel. As before, the film sometimes plays like a stuntman's demo reel in search of a story, but it's high-revving excitement, particularly if you enjoy sensory overload bordering on incoherence.
The fun of the story comes from messing with the series' established mythology. Frank is a tight-lipped, stoic loner with a chaotic, dangerous profession, so this time we see what he does for much-needed relaxation. Not only does he spend afternoons idly fishing with his cop friend Inspector Tarconi (the unflappable Francois Berleand), he watches angling on TV at night.
His relaxation is cut short when a car driven by a young protégé of Frank's explodes through the living-room wall. Frank, who had passed along a bothersome job to the courier, is strong-armed into completing his mission. He is to convey sullen Slavic party girl Valentina (Natalya Rudakova, a constellation of freckles orbiting a pair of Mediterranean-blue eyes) and a large bag of unknown contents to the former Eastern bloc. It all has something to do with Ukraine's environmental protection agency and some polluted sludge that looks as if it was borrowed from The Toxic Avenger's prop room.
The trademark fight sequences are carried off with flair and some wit. It's wanton violence with a wink. Leave it to legendary fight coordinator Corey Yuen to find a way for Frank to beat people up with a grand piano.
Cast: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Francois Berleand, Robert Knepper
Director: Olivier Megaton
Screenwriters: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Producers: Luc Besson, Steve Chasman
A Lionsgate release. Sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material. Running time: 100 minutes.
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