Transporter 3
Two-Disc Edition
Directed by Olivier Megaton
Starring Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, Natalya Rudakova, François Berléand
Lionsgate Film
Release Date: March 10, 2009

Spider-Man 3, Superman 3, and The Matrix Revolutions are just some examples of how good movies can go bad. Sure, they are entertaining on some level, but they never match up to their predecessors. So, I was not exactly sure what to make of The Transporter 3 when it came out. The series certainly made an impression when it first came on the scene but the sequel was definitely not as good as the original. Thankfully, fans of the series can rest easy: The movie far exceeds expectations.

The Transporter 3 continues the adventures of Frank Martin (Jason Statham), professional wheelman and overall badass. Frank has retired from the wheelman gig, mostly spending his time fishing with his friend inspector Tarconi (played once again by the great François Berléand) and living in his nice house. But as you all know, trouble is never is too far away as Frank’s famous Audi-S8 reenters his life in explosive fashion. Once again, Frank must take the wheel and the stakes have never been higher.

Everything old is new again as Transporter 3 is very much like Transporter remake but in a good way. Frank is once again paired up with woman with an accent named Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) and goes head to head with ruthless business man Johnson (Robert Knepper) and the results are quite positive. The movie is fun, energetic, and full of action. I was entertained throughout with the fight scenes and big stunts and always at the edge of my seat. It is one of the few movies that I have seen in the new year that had action sequences that did not feel overtly stale.

Statham, as usual, oozes with cool and looks quite at home in the role of Martin. I’ve always been a big fan of Statham, mainly because he is one of the few action guys out there now that has the acting chops of Brad Pitt but the fighting style of Jackie Chan. His movies are always entertaining and even when he is beating the crap out of someone; he is not above cracking a very dry joke. As with any action movie, the hero of the movie is only as good (or is it bad?) as the villain and Knepper is a pretty good bad guy. Best known as Tea Bag on the TV show Prison Break, Knepper mostly does a lot of talking in the film but when he takes action, it certainly makes an impact and is a definitely a bad guy that you love to hate.

My only problem with the cast is the love interest Valentina. Rudakova, who has never acted in a film until this one, was discovered by the co-creator of The Transporter franchise, Luc Besson, on the street and it shows terribly. She seems really stiff in her role and her accent gets on your nerves very, very quickly. She is not too bad on the eyes but with a voice like that, it kind of loses its luster after a while.

The DVD comes with standard DVD extras that you would expect from a movie. From a featurette to a commentary, there is nothing special that is offered that DVD fans have not seen before. There is also a digital copy of the film packaged into the DVD, an offer that has always befuddled me. If someone wanted a digital version of the movie badly enough, I doubt they would want to pay for extra for both items when they just buy the digital copy online for less, but maybe that’s just me.

Overall, Transporter 3 is an action movie that is sure to please any fan of the franchise or Statham fan. It is hard to know if there will be another movie somewhere down the line but if the series were to end on this movie, I can safely say that movie drove off into the sunset on a high note.