Noticed that Transporter 3 came out on Blu-ray and went out and rented it. I’ve seen the first two movies, so I went into Transporter 3 with fairly low expectations. Thankfully my expectations were exceeded – had they not been, I don’t think I’d even dignify this with a review.

Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is enjoying his retirement in France – this involves a somewhat awkward fishing scene with his friend Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand) which does little more than establish that Frank is now retired and not killing people. Of course, he still has that pesky reputation of being the best transporter in the business, and this causes some men to approach him in an attempt to employ his services. Frank turns down their offer and refers them to a friend, who fails to complete the job. The employer is not too pleased with this, and holds Frank responsible. This of course leaves Frank no choice but to get back behind the wheel of his Audi and complete the mission. The “package” for transport is a bratty girl named Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), and she and Frank both have bracelets which will explode if they go more than seventy-five feet from Frank’s car. The movie plays out, with Frank trying to find a way out of this mess.

Frank Martin is back behind the wheel of his Audi in Transporter 3

This is a fairly standard plot for this type of movie, so there’s not much to be excited about there. The movie isn’t afraid to use clichés at every opportunity, and giving any amount of thought to what’s happening will show all sorts of wholes in the physics of the some of stunts, as well as the logic employed by the characters. That’s how these movies are supposed to be, though – you’re supposed to be focused on the fights, explosions, and women. The movie is heavy on martial arts scenes, with Statham taking on a whole bunch of baddies several times throughout the movie. Seeing as Frank is tethered to the car by his bracelet, there are also a few entertaining car chases to round out the experience. Oh, and some things are just laughable.

Frank (Statham) takes on a load of goons several times in Transporter 3

The most noticeable failing of this movie was in one person, Natalya Rudakova, who plays an annoying Ukrainian party girl. Of course, she’s the package, so she’s pretty much on the screen for the whole movie. I found myself cringing whenever one of her lines came up. About all that kept me going was that Statham’s character seemed as annoyed with her as I was – which means she served her purpose. Apart from her, the acting was fairly good for an action movie.

Natalya Rudakova made this movie much less enjoyable

As I mentioned, I watched this on Blu-ray, and its gorgeous presentation there helped make up for some of the movie’s shortcomings, and of course greatly improved the enjoyment value of the fights and special effects. The movie definitely delivers on that front, which I suppose is all it was intended to do.

The fight scenes, car chases, and explosions are wonderful in HD

While I wish the movie had had a better plot with fewer holes, and on the whole been a higher quality movie on the “intellectual” (if you can call it that) side of things, it’s a fun ride that will definitely offer some entertainment as a rental. I don’t think I’ll watch it again, but I’m glad I watched it once.