According to the behind-the-scenes information on “Transporter 3,” the crew wore T-shirts reading “Less Talk, More Action.” If only they could have eliminated the dialogue altogether.
People talking is the main stumbling block for the latest sequel in Luc Besson’s automotive franchise, a series that began with a bang but fell off badly in its second outing. This one again puts ace driver Frank Martin (Jason Statham) behind the wheel of a very durable car.
This time Martin is being forced to make a delivery in Eastern Europe, at the behest of a villain (Robert Knepper, from “Prison Break”) who spends most of his time barking into a cell phone.
The gimmick this time is a good one: Frank has an explosive bracelet locked around one wrist; if he gets more than 75 feet away from the vehicle, boom goes the jewelry.
There is a live package in the car, for mysterious reasons. This is Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), a heavily freckled Ukrainian party girl. This is Rudakova’s first acting job — a hairdresser, she was discovered by Besson walking across a Manhattan street. She’s got more spunk than acting ability, but that’s all that’s needed here.
Statham handles the fighting scenes in crisp order, fending off a seemingly endless parade of bad guys. Veteran fight choreographer Cory Yuen provides the moves, some of which are truly wild.
The director is Olivier Megaton, who took his last name from the fact that he was born on the anniversary of the atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima. That level of taste will give you some idea of what you’re in for with the film, which ricochets from one unbelievable situation to the next.
Megaton certainly has a tin ear for English dialogue, written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. The love scenes, if that’s the right term, are especially clunky.
But nobody’s going to this movie for the love scenes, or to hear Shakespearian dialogue. Look, there’s a good bike chase, a car plummeting on top of a moving train, and a scene where Frank drives a car on one set of wheels between two giant trucks. Now stuff cotton in your ears and enjoy.
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