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DVDfever.co.uk – Transporter 3 DVD reviewDom Robinson reviews
Icon Home Entertainment
DVD: 
Blu-ray:
Trilogy:
- Cert:
- Running time: 107 minutes
- Cat no: DY22427
- Year: 2008
- Pressing: April 2009
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 12 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English for hearing impaired
- Widescreen: 2.35:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99 (DVD); £24.99 (Blu-ray); £29.99 (DVD Trilogy)
- Extras: Making of, Deleted Scenes
- Vote and comment on this film:View Comments
Director:
- Olivier Megaton
(Angie (2007), Exit, The Red Siren, Transporter 3, TV: Les Redoubtables, Sable noir)
Producers:
- Luc Besson and Steve Chassman
Screenplay:
- Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Original Score :
- Alexandre Azaria
Cast :
- Frank Martin: Jason Statham
Valentina: Natalya Rudakova
Inspector Tarconi: François Berléand
Johnson: Robert Knepper
Leonid Vasilev: Jeroen Krabbé
Transporter 3 is the first film in the series that I’ve seenand also the first directed by the interestingly-nicknamed Olivier Megaton.
Whether or not Frank Martin (Jason Statham is as keen a fisherman in the other films I can only presume he isand that it’s my fault in coming to the series late, but that’s how we begin as he shares time with his FrenchInspector pal, Tarconi (François Berléand). Just as they’re finally getting a bite, Tarconi gets a call sayingthere’s been a bit of a to-do in Marseilles as a man is zooming through the streets in a black Audi, escaping bumblingpolice as he goes… seems that should normally be Frank’s job, but he’s not in the car.
For reasons I don’t want to spoil, Frank soon finds himself back behind the wheel and the item he has to deliverthis time isn’t something he’s used to. It… or, rather, she is Valentina (Natalya Rudakova, right – with Statham- and below-right on her own), a young Russiangirl and she is his ‘package’ for reasons he will discover later.
Plot sensibility goes out the window early on, but then this movie is all about action and it certainly delivers forenough of the time to make it worthwhile. Firstly, both he and the girl have, about their person, a wriststrap thatcannot be removed and, once activated, means he can’t be outside of a few feet from his car otherwise they’ll eachblow up. There’s a minister (Jeroen Krabbé) that’s being blackmailed into accepting the import of something dodgyin the name of “environmental protection”. Krabbé barks as loud as possible at the baddies, yet still looks like MP PeterHain trying to defend his Deputy PM leadership campaign expenses – just a bit fatter.
Meanwhile, the main baddie is played by Robert Knepper, aka T-Bag in Prison Break – and looking almostidentical here – not surprising given that he would’ve been filming that show at the time. Still, he is a welcomeaddition to the cast even if his Prison Break character, as the show has now returned for its final few shows,actually seems to have developed a conscience for the first time in his life. Perhaps the PB scripts are now being writtenby those responsible for Eastenders where continuity isn’t one of their strongest assets.
There are some wonderfully mad stunts in this movie, including Statham chasing his own car whilst on a pushbike.And, later, after demolishing lots of baddies, a meat-headed one appears on his own. Frank asks, “You’re the smartone?”
The baddie replies, “No, I’m the big one.”
That said, it does get a bit slow when it comes to a romantic liaison between the two leads. Just give us the carchases, please!
I’ve still got the first two Transporter DVDs in my never-ending ‘to do’ pile, so I should get round to thembefore too long. Apparently, No.3 isn’t as good as the first two and that if you watch this one first then you won’t havethe first two to compare it to – which is where I find myself. However, it’s still a great way of spending 90 minutes orso before the end credits kick in.
The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and looks pin-sharp and crystal clear – Icon have done aremarkable job with the mastering here. My viewing experience was helped by watching itupscaled to a 37″ Panasonicplasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1400 BluRay Player.
There are sound options for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1, so I chose the latter. When you get to action scenes, ofwhich there are a decent number (even though I would like more – but not likeQuantum of Solacewhere they substituted for anything making any kind of sense), you will be in for a massive treat, particularly duringa moment at around 10:40 which caused me to jump out of my seat when a car made a certain action (I won’t spoil it here).
The extras a few in number, beginning with a Making Of (16:12), which begins with Statham testing out stuntscenes, we get some info on Robert Knepper’s main baddie character, a brief look at the opening chase scene in Franceand working with Natalya Rudakova in her debut movie role as Valentina. For some reason, this segment refers to her asSasha, despite the movie credits saying Natalya. Along the way there are comments mixed in from Statham and directorOlivier Megaton.
Then there are Mini-featurettes for Storyboards (2:47), Special FX (2:32), The Sets (2:11) and Cat Stunts (3:11),but they’re all way too short to make any real impact on you.
Prior to the main menu, which features black and white clips from the film, comes something that should’ve been left behind in the age of rental video – trailers for forthcomingDVDs. There’s the ‘Extras’ menu for this sort of things, hence, I’m not going to mention the titles featured here.Elsewhere on the disc, there are subtitles in English only and there are just 12 chapters to the film, which isn’t anywherenear enough as I work on a basis of one every five minutes, plus a separate one for the end of opening and beginning of closing credits.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.