Transporter 3
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Olivier Megaton
Produced by	Luc Besson Steve Chasman
Written by	Luc Besson Robert Mark Kamen
Starring	Jason Statham François Berléand Robert Knepper Natalya Rudakova Eriq Ebouaney
Music by	Alexandre Azaria
Cinematography	Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci
Editing by	Camille Delamarre Carla Rizzo
Distributed by	United Kingdom: 20th Century Fox Non-United Kingdom: Lionsgate EuropaCorp
Release date(s)	November 26, 2008 (USA) December 5, 2008 (UK) February 5, 2009 (AUS)
Running time	104 min.
Country	France Russia Ukraine
Language	English
Budget	€30,000,000 $41,000,000
Gross revenue	$102,402,298
Preceded by	Transporter 2

Transporter 3 is a 2008 action film, and is the third installment in the Transporter film series, as well as the first not to be distributed by 20th Century Fox in the United States. Both Jason Statham and François Berléand reprised their roles, as Frank Martin and Tarconi, respectively. This is the first film in the series to be directed by Olivier Megaton. The film continues the story of Frank Martin, a professional "transporter" who has returned to France to continue his low-key business of delivering packages without questions.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Natalya Rudakova 3 DVD & Blu-ray release 4 Production 5 Reception 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot

Frank Martin (Jason Statham) has been pressured into transporting a package, together with Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), the kidnapped daughter of Leonid Vasilev (Jeroen Krabbe); as it turns out later, the objective is to deliver her. Both have a device attached to their wrist which is wired to explode if the person concerned goes more than 75 feet (22.86 metres) from the car. Vasilev is the head of the Environmental Protection Agency for Ukraine. Frank Martin must travel from Marseille through Munich and Budapest until he ends up in Odessa on the Black Sea. With the help of Inspector Tarconi (François Berléand), Frank must contend with the people who strong-armed him into taking the job, agents sent by the Ukrainian government to intercept him, and the general non-cooperation of his passenger.

Valentina thinks she is going to die, and consumes drugs and alcohol to feel better and have some fun for the last time. Frank is not happy with this, because both have to remain sharp. However, Frank and Valentina fall for each other, while escaping from one life-threatening situation after another.

Frank Martin continues to drive the Audi A8 6.0 W12, although there have been claims that the car was specially made for the film, and the version in the film can't be purchased today.

[edit] Cast

• Jason Statham as Frank Martin
• François Berléand as Inspector Tarconi
• Natalya Rudakova as Valentina Vasilev
• Justin Hodgers Hall as Horatio^[1]
• Eriq Ebouaney as Ice^[1]
• Robert Knepper as Johnson
• Jeroen Krabbé as Leonid Vasilev
• David Atrakchi as Malcom Manville

[edit] Natalya Rudakova

Natalya Rudakova was spotted by Luc Besson on the street as she hurried to her job at a New York hair salon. He paid for 25 acting lessons over a six month period in Paris before she received the role.^[2] Roger Ebert was impressed by her good looks and many freckles.^[3] Many professional film critics thought her acting was a weak aspect of the film.^[4][5][6]

[edit] DVD & Blu-ray release

Transporter 3 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 10, 2009 in the United States. The single disc DVD will contain both fullscreen and widescreen versions of the film. The 2 Disc Fully Loaded Edition DVD will contain a digital copy that the single disc will not have. A Blu-ray two-disc will also be released, which will contain the digital copy. 1,108,030 units were sold, bringing in $19,707,976 in revenue.^[7]

[edit] Production

Shooting was initially expected to last for 16 weeks, in France and Russia. It was also filmed in Odessa, Ukraine.^[8]

[edit] Reception

The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film holds a score of 38%, based on 104 reviews, and an average rating of 4.8 out of 10 on the website Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus stated that the film is a "middling installment in the Transporter franchise that is a few steps down from its predecessors, featuring generic stunts and a lack of energy."^[9] On Metacritic, the film currently has a score of 51%, based on 26 reviews.^[10]

On its opening weekend, the film opened at number 7 with $12 million.^[11] As of September 11, 2009, the film has grossed $31.7 million in the United States and in Canada and $74.6 million in foreign countries, with a total gross of $106,288,215 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the Transporter trilogy.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Transporter 3 at the Internet Movie Database
• Transporter 3 at Box Office Mojo

v • d • e Transporter Series Films The Transporter · Transporter 2 · Transporter 3 Characters Frank Martin