Transporter 3 (2009)

Special Edition 2 Discs Includes Digital Copy DVD

Jason Statham makes several movies a year. This is one of them. Once again, he takes off his shirt and beats people up. You've seen it before, and you'll definitely see it again. When Statham's name is attached to the top of a DVD, you know exactly what you are going to get. Transporter 3 hits right smack dab in the middle of Death Race and Crank 2. If you're not up to par on such things, this might come on like a blur, or a commercial for something you've already seen twelve times on cable. I assure you, its new Statham. The guy's certainly found his niche. If you like wallowing in that niche, you'll definitely enjoy this, his latest topless outing. Its pretty simple. A bald guy drives a sexy woman really fast across various foreign countries, fighting bare fisted bad guys along the way. Frank Martin is a special delivery man. Think, the pizza boy next door. Only with an Audi and really impressive Kung fu moves. That's your movie in a nutshell. This particular installment doesn't deviate from previous entries in this particular franchise. The only new elements are Martin's striking reluctance to return to the job that made him famous. And a bracelet that will blow him to high heaven if he is more than seventy-five feet away from his vehicle at any given moment. That cruel device makes for some great action sequences tonally charged for the bargain bin. The women that come to oogle Statham's steel barn abs might be a little disappointed. He actually gets a love interest this time out. But don't fret too much, they've uglied her up as to be accessible to both the males and females in the audience. You never really quite think that their relationship will last. Not if you believe Sandra Bullock at the beginning of Speed 2, anyway. This is throwaway cinema at its best. There's nothing at all special about it. It's a Saturday afternoon matinee reserved for the bored. Rent it, don't buy it.

This two-disc set is fully loaded with excellent featurettes that are slightly more entertaining than the movie itself. We get "Special Delivery", a look at Transporters in the real world. A behind the scenes look at storyboards, sets, the production design, and the special effects. There is a pretty extensive Making Of mini-documentary. And director Oliver Megaton gives a pretty insightful audio commentary over the entire movie. Added bonus: there is a digital copy of the film for downloading to your personal MP3 video device.

Transporter 3 brings nothing new to this waning franchise. Its not as action packed as the first two outings, and it tends to get a little too talky for its own good. If you're looking for a fast, fun, thrilling flick, you might want to look elsewhere. Die-hard Statham fans will want to own it. Some of you might want to rent it. But if you missed it, you'd never know the difference. It's sort of lame. And it doesn't stand up to repeat viewings.