Transporter 3 4K Blu-ray Review
By Chris Heinonen on
Audio Quality
Video Quality
Overall
Summary: Jason Statham is back as Frank Martin, the Transporter, in this explosive third installment of the action-adventure series. This time, Frank is presented an offer he can’t refuse and ends up with a mysterious passenger and a dangerous destination — calling for a new machine and new rules. The stakes are bigger, the enemy is deadlier, and the action has never been hotter.
Transporter 3 Movie Review
Having not seen any of the Transporter films before, I had a good idea of the plot: He drives an Audi, he drives it very fast and very well, and he gets a person to where they need to be. As I settled in for some dumb fun, I was surprised at how much I’d have to focus on the first word there. The plot is slowly explained over the film, but it doesn’t take long at all to figure out that the person in the car with Frank is the real cargo and not what is in the trunk. In no surprise, he manages to out-drive everyone, defeat a small army with only his bare hands (while managing to remove his shirt in the process, to stun them with his abs), and find time for some romantic relations while having a bomb strapped to his wrist.
Nothing in Transporter 3 is close to logically possible, and you should completely turn the logic side of your brain off before watching it. But even then it’s too ridiculous in what it tries to do for any rewatching. I’m assuming the first two films must have been better to have necessitated a third, but with this one it feels like they’re just going through the motions, making sure to fit in all the elements people expect with a minimal plot thrown in.
Transporter 3 Technical Review
Transporter 3 was shot on 35mm and then finished with a 2K DI. In the past, Lionsgate has used 35mm prints to do the 4K transfers (see our review of Kick-Ass for an example), but we aren’t sure if that is the case here. The transfer here is very hit-and-miss. There are some scenes that have nice clarity, but also a lot of shadow crushing where dark areas are virtually black with no details at all. Some very bright scenes are too contrasty, where colors look incorrect as if they are trying to make the scene use HDR without having a good source. Overall the image here is just fair to good, with the issues proving to be distracting. (Editors Note: We didn’t watch the Dolby Vision version as the Panasonic UB820 doesn’t support the Sony method of DV yet.)
The audio is much better here, with an Atmos soundtrack that uses the channels relatively well. Height channels are used reasonably, and there is bass response in the scenes that need it. Dialogue isn’t always as easy to understand as I would like, but isn’t bad. The soundtrack is better than the image, but isn’t reference class.
Transporter 3 Special Features
- Audio Commentary with Director Olivier Megaton
- “Special Delivery: Transporters in the Real World” Featurette
- “Making of Transporter 3” Featurette
- Storyboards
- Visual Effects
- The Sets
- Theatrical Trailer
Review System
Sony A1E OLED, Sony UBP-X800 UltraHD Blu-ray Player, Panasonic UB820 UltraHD Blu-ray Player, KEF Ci5160RL-THX Fronts, Ci3160RL-THX Center, 2x Ci200RR-THX Surrounds, 4x CI200RR-THX Atmos Speakers, Anthem MRX 1120 Receiver, SVS SB-4000 Subwoofer.
Pros
Dolby Atmos soundtrack is good.
Cons
Transfer offers crushed shadows and overly-contrasty bright scenes with poor HDR usage, the story.
Summary
Transporter 3 is a by-the-numbers action film that fits in all the elements you expect but nothing more. The disc has a transfer that looks good sometimes, but often crushes shadows and doesn't do well with highlights.
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