Jason Statham reprises his role as Frank Martin everyones favorite Audi driver. In this film set initially in France Frank has to drive a damsel in distress very fast from A->B using a series of vehicular stunts, there are a few fights at least one where Statham inexplicably has to strip off down to a bare chest, and there are a fair few explosions. Admittedly I could have just any of the three transporter films since they are all pretty similar in concept.
The twist in this one is a wrist bracelet attached to Franks arm that will explode killing him and taking a lot of the countryside with him some how (even though it's the size of a large watch, I guess France is very flammable or something) if he gets too far from his motor. His new lady friend Valentina, played by Natalya Rudakova, also has a matching bracelet. Running the show is Mr Johnson, played by Robert Knepper, a ruthless fixer who has all the angles figured in some ploy or other to do something … to be honest the plot is fairly forgettable it holds together but it's not really more than an excuse for the explosions and fast driving.
This film was pretty much exactly what I was expecting it to be despite not having any knowledge of the film before hand and not having seen the trailers. It is cut straight from the same mold used to make Transporter 1 and 2. Luc Besson's influence is obvious on the film and it is very reminiscent of his other works in style and content, having recently seen the excellent Taken which is another Besson work the feeling of deja vu was palpable.
Jason Statham is the same character he always plays: Jason Statham, this time wearing a suit. There is not much in the way of high drama he mostly looks serious somewhere slightly to the left of camera while doing some very fast driving, or he strips off to show off his torso while fighting, at least he doesn't cover himself in oil in this one.
The love interest Valentina is really only there as a physical plot piece she has no real function and could be replaced by a large cabinet he has to move for some very impatient people moving house in a hurry. Other than slight emotional investment she's fairly pointless. She does the job reasonably and what few lines she has are delivered well.
They also have François Berléand reprises his role as Tarconi the French cop who is a friend of Franks he acts as a foil for Frank and fills in a few of the holes here and there. He seems to be able to operate far outside his jurisdiction without penalty but in a film with so many reality stretching occurrences what is one more.
Knepper is pretty good as the criminal mastermind he is suitably nasty and yet together. It's a passable performance.
If you enjoyed the transporter you'll probably like this new iteration. It doesn't really do much new but what it does do it carries off with some style. The car chases and action is suitably over the top, the acting is fine what little there is. You don't go into a film like this expecting high drama what you get is action of an almost cartoon like variety it's mindless but it passes the time.