Transporter 3 (2008)

Frank Martin puts the driving gloves on to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina's safe delivery and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his dangerous objective.

Director:

Olivier Megaton

Writers:

Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen

Stars:

Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, Natalya Rudakova

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Statham	...	Frank Martin
Natalya Rudakova	...	Valentina
François Berléand	...	Tarconi
Robert Knepper	...	Johnson
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Leonid Vasilev
Alex Kobold	...	Leonid's Aide
David Atrakchi	...	Malcom Manville
Yann Sundberg	...	Flag
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Ice
David Kammenos	...	Driver Market
Silvio Simac	...	Mighty Joe
Oscar Relier	...	Thug / Driver
Timo Dierkes	...	Otto
Igor Koumpan	...	Cop Ukraine
Paul Barrett	...	Captain

Storyline

Toxic waste bubbles in a ship waiting permission to dock in Odessa. Frank Martin turns down a job in Marseilles, referring it to a pal. A short time later, the pal, wounded by gunfire, crashes his car into Frank's living room and dies, leaving a young woman in the back seat. The employer of the dead man shows up, forces Frank to take the job, snaps a bracelet on his wrist that will explode if Frank gets more than 75 feet from his car, and sends Frank on a journey east with the young woman and a trunk full of something. She's Valentina, nearly mute. Can Frank figure out what's going on, deliver the package, and escape alive? And what does the ship have to do with it?

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Plot Keywords:

car | driving | toxic waste | declining a job offer | blood splatter | 

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Taglines:

If You Need It To Arrive Safe and In One Piece -- Hire A Professional

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

France USA Ukraine

Language:

English French Ukrainian Russian Hungarian

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Transporter 3

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,063,452, 30 November 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$31,715,062

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$108,979,549

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production, Grive Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the promotion posters for the film shows Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) posed holding a gun, despite the fact that nowhere in the film does she do so.

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Goofs

After kicking through his driver's window to retake his car, Frank drives off, but there is insufficient road noise to merit a missing window, Valentina's hair does not blow, and a car window is visible in the vehicle's reflection on the building.

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Quotes

Valentina: Am I not sexy?
Frank Martin: [uninterested] ... yeah, you're sexy.
Valentina: [elatedly] You're the gay!
Frank Martin: Nope! I am not "the gay."

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Connections

Referenced in Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)

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Soundtracks

Wherever You Were
Written by Don D. Robey (as Don Robey) and Vernon Morrison
Performed by Holly Golightly
(c) Duchess Music Corp.
(p) 1995 Damaged Goods Records
Taken from the Album "The Goods Things" (Damgood 65)
www.damagedgoods.co.uk
With Courtesy of Universal Music Vision

User Reviews

Disappointed in the director

I loved both Transporter and Transporter 2, and I couldn't wait until opening day of Transporter 3. I recruited a few of my friends and we made a girls' night outing to see it. My big disappointment was with the director's comic fast-frames in the fight sequences. Jason Statham moves so fluidly in fight sequences, that it's both beautiful and a turn-on to watch. However, with jerky camera movements and the ridiculous fast-forwarding, the elements of grace and power were lost. The director tried to substitute plenty of still moments with a shirtless Statham in an attempt to give us some eye candy, but none of this did Jason justice, nor was it a fitting substitute. Natalya Rudakova was much too young for him as a romantic interest (kind of creepy), and I was unconvinced by her cheesy accent and her character's incongruent language mastery. Her character went from describing gourmet delicacies in perfect English to saying "what means ____" (insert basic word).

I loved François Berléand again, and of course Jason put in another outstanding performance. Natalya could have been a fun character, without the bad accent and romantic twist to the plot.

Please give us a Transporter 4 more in line with the previous two films!!