Running time: 103mins. Starring: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Robert Knepper, Jeroen Krabbe, Francois Berleand, Alex Kobold. Director: Olivier Megaton.

Jason Statham returns to what he does best — taking his shirt off as he whips bad guys to a pulp — in Olivier Megaton’s brawny yet brainless sequel.

Co-written like its predecessors, by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, Transporter 3 appropriates an eco-friendly central theme as a hook for all the usual fisticuffs and high-speed chases.

However, the filmmakers are more interested in orchestrating mayhem than saving the planet, including a showdown between the hero and several goons in an auto repair shop, using tools lying on shelves as weapons.

The miasma of kicks, punches and fracturing bones might be thrilling if it weren’t so implausible.

Even when he’s outnumbered 10 to one, Statham’s hard nut refuses to crack, taking out all comers without breaking a sweat.

His adversaries exhibit impeccable manners, attacking one at a time when surely it would be preferable to dive in together and overwhelm the hero.

A high-octane pursuit culminates in the muscle man balancing his car on two wheels so he can drive it through the gap between two articulated lorries. The least said about a ridiculous sequence on a BMX, thrown into the mix for a little variety, the better.

Frank Martin (Statham) burns rubber from sunny Marseilles, through Stuttgart and Budapest, and eventually on to Odessa on a job ordered by bad guy Johnson (Knepper).

En route, Frank collects his package, Valentina (Rudakova), the kidnapped daughter of Leonid Vasilev (Krabbe), head of the Ukraine’s powerful Environmental Protection Agency.

Putting the pedal to the metal, Frank comes under fire from Vasilev’s men and from Valentina, who doesn’t take kindly to being manhandled.

Sparks of sexual attraction fly and Frank finds himself falling for the passionate woman in his care.

However, once Frank learns of Johnson’s ulterior motives involving a cargo ship full of toxic waste, he risks everything to prevent Valentina falling into the villain’s clutches.

Good friend Inspector Tarconi (Berleand) provides valuable back up as Frank screeches towards his date with destiny.

Transporter 3 ties the hero and his sexy sidekick to the car using the clumsy plot device of hi-tech bracelets, which explode is the wearer strays 75ft from the vehicle.

Consequently, when the car plummets into water, the buff brawler turns to his A-Team survival guide to remain close to the souped-up vehicle without drowning.