Film Review--Transporter 3

Transporter 3
directed by Oliver Megaton
written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
starring Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, François Berléand, Robert Knepper, Jeroen Krabbé, Alex Kobold, David Atrakchi, Yann Sundberg

With all the energy, movement, physical brutality, mayhem and death this film at its core is actually a rather engaging lust story between two characters who are literally thrust together against both of their wills.

Frank Martin (Statham) returns in the third and certainly not last installment of the series. As the film opens he is forced to transport another package to a location he is not privy too. He simply calls the cellphone of a man named Johnson (Knepper) and is instructed where to go. As he did in the first film he breaks his own rule and looks into the package. He finds stacks of phone books and realizes that the foxy girl named Valentina who has heretofore been his passenger is actually the real package. Well, she certainly is a package and she elevates the film to a bit of a higher plane than one would typically expect. Both she and Frank are wearing bracelets that will explode if either of them get more than 75 feet away from the car. The film is made up of a series of incidents where Frank becomes in danger of crossing the line.

The film is ostensibly about some biological warfare materials that are coming into US Harbor from Ukraine. The head of the Ukranian Environmental Protection Agency and Valentina’s father–a man named Leonid Vasilev is pressured into signing some documents in exchange for his daughter. Much of the film is a countdown to when he is supposed to sign and it’s thrilling to a point to watch Johnson snivel his way about the screen. This is actually quite a brilliant performance by Robert Knepper. He captures just enough cruelty with his movements and gestures. One believes he is an acute threat and there is never any doubt as to what his intentions are. Perhaps this black and white aspect to the narrative eliminates all mystery but in this sort of film it’s necessary to have bad men who stay that way for the duration. There’s never any doubt that he’s a man who doesn’t possess any sympathetic features. He’s not particularly cultured, he’s abrasive and demanding, and he doesn’t necessarily own a fine pair of shoes. Nor does he seem to care. He’s simple and direct and quite knowledgeable about using specific technology to trap people into doing his bidding. Indeed, the whole bracelet contraption that he forces on Frank and Valentina is a work of genius. It’s a delicious form of control that gives the film an extra jolt of energy which it doesn’t exactly need.

There is plenty of energy in this film as Frank drives insanely well and combats a series of lowlifes who get in his way. The chase scenes are top notch and the fight sequences are, as is always the case with Statham, poetic and finely constructed. He simply is the master of turning a simple fight sequence into something that approaches art. This has a lot to do with the choreography and the oft-times gritty realism of the maneuvers but much of it happens because of the way Statham positions himself and how he lands.

The actual story doesn’t necessarily make much sense if your attention lapses early on at a crucial point when what is actually happening is briefly noted by one of the characters. Ultimately this does not matter because much of the story isn’t particularly compelling. The true highlight here is the relationship that develops between Frank and Valentina. She utterly dismisses him at first and plays reticent and distant. He can’t get a word out of her perhaps because she doesn’t trust him. Suddenly he cracks her and she cannot shut up. From there it’s a slowly developing story between these two and it naturally leads to the inevitable. The key scene takes place in a warehouse space where Frank is faced with a dozen very angry guys who all want to be the one to take him down. As per usual Frank wastes every one and Valentina cannot mask her enthusiasm. When she finally seduces him she relays seeing him with his shirt off after he has taken off his jacket, shirt and tie and considers it to be like a strip tease. She makes him take off his shirt again and then they do what any person would do if faced with such a situation. They dance. No, they don’t dance but they do make use of the backseat. Their entire relationship is not novel for this genre. One only has to look at all the Bond films to realize how stimulated women are by men who demonstrate their physical domination of other men and it’s always a bonus if they do so while dressed immaculately. Frank’s irrepressible style is another shout out to Bond. Indeed, this series owes its worth to the James Bond franchise but it isn’t entirely derivative. It gives Frank a few more personality quirks and less access to gadgetry. In this one he is subject to the whims of the men who possess all the gadgets and who intend to use them to Frank’s dire end.

Overall, this film manages to maintain the intensity of the first two. The performances do justice to the material and each participant does something interesting to enhance the plot. It’s not necessarily the best of the three but each of them have their merits. They are all energetic and Jason Statham performs with dexterity and great movability in his many fight sequences. This film
lacks any legitimate emotional currency save the storyline involving two fit bodies who tangle in the expected manner. This is by and large a healthy adrenaline rush that is all the film makers can honestly ask for. Yet, it possesses more than the typical action film which all comes down to the performances and nuances of character. It’s a straightforward exercise pitting two intelligent and crafty men up against one another in an often clever and never boring fight to the death.