Taken 3
Dustin Chase
If the unnecessary Taken 2 was lazy, Taken 3 is simply absurd. The asks us to believe that 62-year-old Brian Mills can single handed out run and outsmart the entire LAPD and jump over 15 foot fences among other things. At the end of the film (no spoilers), Mills says “I’ll find you, and we both know what’s going to happen,” well of course we know what’s going to happen, because we have watch it happen three times already! Rinse and repeat! The reason Taken 3 fills more like Taken 6 or 7 is due to the films Neeson makes in between the franchise are the same character, same story, same conclusion. Even as a Lego character, Neeson was doing pretty much the same thing.
As the Mills family continues to live their separate lives, Kim (Grace) at college with her boyfriend (Jonny Weston); Lenore (Janssen) seeing a marriage counselor to repair her marriage with Stuart (Scott), and dear old dad Brian (Neeson) waiting for something to happen to he can come to the rescue again. There will be no rescue for Lenore this time. When Brian returns from a trip to the bagel store, his ex is lying throat slashed in his bed. In record time the LAPD are at his door accusing him of the crime, he flees the scene with ease and begins putting together the pieces to prove his innocence.
Taken 3 might be the most hilarious of the trilogy that seems completely unaware of the ludicrous behavior it exhibits.
The script (by terrible writers Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen) plays up sympathy for Brian, his beautiful wife drives around in a fancy sports car, his daughter turning away his childish gifts while he drives away in a grey Corolla with no life to lead. Thirty minutes of setting the stage, with the remainder of the film in action mode we watch ridiculous stunts including metal cargo containers bouncing down the freeway and a laughable stunt with a Porsche and a small jet on the runway. Taken 3 might be the most hilarious of the trilogy that seems completely unaware of the ludicrous behavior it exhibits.
It’s ironic that when the original Taken burst onto the scene, it was hailed as a career revival not only for the action film but for Liam Neeson’s career. Now 7 years later the same character that was praised, is contributing to the demise of an actor whose respect in regards to cinematic contribution is severely tarnished. By the time Taken 4 hits theaters, and it will I have no doubt, Neeson will officially be classified as a senior citizen. More jokes and digs will follow as he once again saves the day and we move even farther from that brilliant actor who gave unforgettable performances in Kinsey, Nell and Schindler’s List.
Final Thought
It might be Taken 3, but it’s the 7th time Neeson has played this character, it’s only getting worse.