Back for “Taken 3”, the final installment in a series, which never seems to end, no matter how happy an ending there is… And mind you, this sequel has nothing to do with the previous taken… And nobody really is taken… Well, not literally…
Back in 2009, Liam Neeson was not even an action star. Then came Taken, it become a massive success, earning a substantial amount of money and absolutely reinventing the Irish star’s career as an action hero of a particular age.
What followed were a series of genre hits that positioned themselves as continuations of this new surge of popularity — Unknown, The Grey, Non-Stop and of course, Taken 2. While the first Taken was a surprisingly slick little piece of mindless action entertainment with a characteristically committed Neeson as the unconventional lead, the sequel was not so good. With Neeson’s box-office clout front and center though, it brought in buckets of cash and despite the star’s statements to the contrary, Taken 3 was soon to be unleashed on the world.
Taken 3 is one of those sequels that insults your intelligence by pretending to be something different than what it is. Throughout the marketing process, Neeson has remained stern in his promise that he wouldn’t offend the audience by asking them to pay for the same thing a third time — that watching someone get taken again in this context would just be ridiculous. So it’s true, the plot of Taken 3 doesn’t revolve around someone being kidnapped. Instead, Neeson’s ex-covert operative Bryan Mills is framed for the murder of his wife Lenore and he goes on the run to prove his innocence while the determined Detective Frank Dotzler (Forest Whitaker) hunts him down and a conspiracy is unraveled. It’s true that this isn’t a lazy repeat of Taken again…it’s a repeat of The Fugitive.
The movie is fit with a twist, that was fairly predictable to me… I was almost certain that this “certain someone” is more involved than “he” appears to be…
Taken (2008) was a classic. Taken 2 was rubbish. Taken 3 is a decent movie, just about worth watching. It’s got the usual stuff: car chase, shooting, etc. One thing that was really unexpected: The Russian villain was in his underwear… He literally jumps out of a hot tub, and starts shooting and firing guns!
Rating: 6.5/10
