Honestly, Taken never deserved Liam Neeson. The only good thing about the Taken movies is Liam Neeson, who manages to make anything look badass (such as eating bagels). Because the first movie became a box-office hit, Taken 2 was born and blew up even more, despite it being a messy, unfunny replica of the original. So now, we have the obligatory Taken 3. This time, no one in Taken 3 is abducted, but it definitely took one thing: my time.
How to Stream or Download Taken 3
To stream or to download the film from a digital stor, click on the Download button at the of the review.
The Movie Review
Bryan Mills tries to be a good dad for his daughter, Kim. Meanwhile, his ex-wife Lenore is on the fence about her marriage with Stuart St. John. He receives a text from her informing him that she needs to speak with him. But when he arrives in his flat, he finds Lenore dead.
The cops arrive and are about to make their arrest, falsely believing Bryan as the culprit, but he manages to escape with his ex-CIA operative skills. Detective Franck Dotzler hunts down Bryan while he investigates who the killer is and protects his daughter Kim, who believes that he would never kill Lenore. Soon, he discovers that Russian gangster Oleg Malankov murdered Lenore. But it seems that her husband Stuart, knows more what he actually says.
Returning from the franchise is Director Oliver Megaton, whose definition of a thrilling movie is cranking up on shaky cams. To label Megaton as an action director is a shame to the genre’s history. Megaton isn’t a visual master, but the bone-headed story by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote all of the Taken films, are the small flicker of hope for Taken 3.
The intensity of the cuts and sound effects may create the impression of action, but you can’t see what’s going on on screen. Megaton is so comically inept that he gives important plot twists away early on. Then, when the obvious is eventually revealed, they try to pass it off as genuine surprise.
The thing I disliked the most is that for an action movie, the action scenes are bland and shot messily. Megaton takes away the impact of every gunshot and punch with each cut, depending on his editing to provide the idea that all bullets are hitting their targets and each punch is landing its damage. But I don’t think this was done on purpose for creative reasons.
The plot is also generic and predictable, we already have suspicions about Stuart right from the start, and even the detective knows that Bryan is innocent. Yet, he pursues the operative and goes through the motions just for the sake of showing off Bryan’s out-of-the-box skill set. It just has to be awesome for the sake of it, because that’s what fans loved from the first movie.
As a result, we have blown-up patrol vehicles, highway collisions, and elevator explosions – all because of this one dude.
However, if you start out the movie with low expectations, you won’t be disappointed. The family dynamic between the Mills is wholesome and sweet, it baffles me how Bryan and Lenore were divorced in the first place when they have so much chemistry, and Kim has been in Taken since the first that I start worrying anytime she’s in danger.
This is a great movie to watch with your family, and if you aren’t there for hardcore action. The performances of the cast were all great, and Liam Neeson was always fun to see. Even in the midst of a crisis, his character always seems to be cool and collected. One example is when Liam Neeson knocks a villain out with a slap on the back, as if he was patting him on a job well done.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Taken 3 is a mediocre action film and didn’t need to exist. Many of the elements here can be seen in the first film, and watching the sequel does the same effect. To be fair, it’s still a movie you can tolerate and see with friends, it’s just repetitive, long, and tiresome.
