Bryan Mills, the man with a particular set of skills has returned. Taken 3, or TAK3N as it is it is being referred to. Liam Neeson returns along with Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace, and are joined by new comer to the franchise Forest Whitaker. Written and produced once again by Luc Besson, Taken 3 sees Taken 2 director Olivier Megaton back in the director’s chair. I wasn’t a fan of the 2nd installment, feeling it was nothing more than a rehash of the first film. However all the trailers for this 3rd film has had me excited, looking like they were taking the franchise in another direction this go around.
Taken 3 sees ex-government operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) who has a particular set of skills that make him a nightmare to anyone trying to harm his family, accused of the murder of his ex-wife Lenny (Janssen). While on the run from the inspector on the case, Franck Dotzler (Whitaker), Mills looks to find his wife’s true killer, clear his name, and protect his daughter.
I’m not going to lie to you. This film was really missing one thing. Detective Samuel Gerard and if you don’t know who I am talking about, stop reading and go watch The Fugitive. Then you can come back and read this. The film isn’t horrible, it is a lot better then Taken 2 I’ll give it that. It is not rehashing the same old story. It’s rehashing another story. Forest Whitaker is really good as the hardened detective, with two ticks, yes he has two ticks. But the entire film I couldn’t help but want Tommy Lee Jones here. In a time where Hollywood is hot with shared universes, this film could have benefited from Crossing over with The Fugitive/U.S. Marshalls. Yes, I said it.
Ok taking out that this is pretty much a Fugitive remake and could’ve benefited from the crossover let’s just look at it for what it is. The finale of the Taken Trilogy. The action is a little over the top this go around. They kind of went from realistic feel from the first film to a little out of control in the second, to straight up Fast and Furious. There are literally scenes that you watch and think “Yep, no one survives that.” And then a scene later with no explanation here comes Bryan Mills walking down the street on his phone.
It’s not all bad though. Liam Neeson is fun in this role as he always is. And there are a good amount of twist and turns that do keep you guessing. Maggie Grace is shining star and probably my favorite performance of hers. And like I said Forrest Whitaker is always talented and fun onscreen. It is also nice that this go around we get to see Mills’ crew get more involved. Over the course of the first 2 films you feel as if they are just lackeys but you expect more. And this time you kind of get it.
Over all it is a decent film, and a decent (possible) ending to the franchise. It could have been more effective if they had taken advantage of the scripts likeliness to The Fugitive. I’m giving this one a Jeebus Score of 3.2 out of 6. What say you? Are you looking forward to TAK3N, did you like the first 2? What is your favorite Liam Neeson film? Sound off in the comments below.
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