Because one ultraviolent, dumb action movie wasn’t enough for Jason Statham in 2008!
Image Courtesy of IMPawards.com
Director: Olivier Megaton
Notable Cast: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Robert Knepper, François Berléand, Jeroen Krabbé
Chev Chelios. Handsome Rob. Jensen Ames. Terry Leather. Jericho Butler. When you look at the names of the characters that Jason Statham has portrayed over the years, it seems as if Statham picks his roles on one defining principle: make sure they have a cool sounding name. The only one of Statham’s characters to make it to a third film so far has been the one that launched him into the status of an action hero, Frank Martin, in the Transporter franchise. Now he’s back for a third film in the series, Transporter 3, and based on the film’s ending might be the final film of the series.
Martin (Statham) is coaxed into a job by a ruthless man named Johnson (Robert Knepper). With an explosive device attached to his wrist, as well as that of his travel companion Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), he has to drop off a package in his Audi while not venturing more than 75 feet from it. And for what could be a fairly interesting device to use in an action film, it ends up being used a couple times in what is a solid but unsatisfying film.
Statham, who was in the excellent The Bank Job and the good Death Race, is in his worst film of 2008 but in perhaps the most familiar role. Martin is old hand by now and as always he’s the film’s straight man to the insanity the series has provided. He’s playing the same character he always plays in action films, the British one man army, and as always the lengthy fight sequences allow him to show off his tremendous skills as an athlete. Acting wise he’s his solid self but this isn’t anything to write home about on his acting resume; it’s another notch on the belt. As always he’s the film’s strength, and the film is hampered by two things: its poor cinematography and its worse writing.
The film has the pedigree of Corey Yuen, who directed the first film and did the stunt work for the trilogy, but the film uses the “shaky cam” effect throughout and makes it ridiculously confusing to follow. The few times the camera is steady the action is terrific; the problem is that the film doesn’t take the time to keep it steady enough. It makes most of the action sequences into a mess; usually the series has prided itself on being great action with an incoherent story. Now it seems the action is being fitted to the story.
The story itself is rather weak as well. The wrist devices function more as a way of allowing Frank and Valentina time in a car to follow the usual storyline as opposed to doing anything of note. There are only three real times the devices come into play as part of the story and they aren’t the strongest. There’s a feeling in the air that Luc Besson has had enough of the character and is finding the most expedient way possible of closing out the stories.
It is awards season, full of melodrama like Milk and Slumdog Millionaire, and for those who want a good old-fashioned mindless action film Transporter 3 is there for the action junkies in all of us.
