Taken 3

Before I see any of the "Taken" franchise films, I always expect them to be hackneyed and extremely predictable. Then afterwards, they always exceed beyond my expectations in being slickly and interestingly creative and well played out. Well, it happened again with "Taken 3".


Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose long awaited reconciliation with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the lam to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. One particular detective, Franck Dotzler (Forest Whitaker) attempts to keep one step ahead of Mills but consistently fails, however has extreme respect for his 'ghost' abilities. For one last time, Mills must use his "particular set of skills" to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now-- his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace).

Others to round out the cast are Dougray Scott as Stuart St. John, Lenore's husband, Sam Spruell as Oleg Matankov, Leland Orser as Sam, one of Mills' assistants, Jon Cries as Casey, Don Harvey as Garcia, Dylan Bruno as Smith, Judi Beecher as Claire, Al Sapienza as Detective Johnson and Andrew Howard as Maxim.

This was directed with just the right amount of grit and intensity by Olivier Megaton ("Exit" 2000, "La sirene rouge" '02, "Transporter 3" '08, "Colombiana" '11, "Taken 2" '12). By his very resume, this guy knows action and intensity, so he was definitely in his element. At least he understands his limitations and sticks to what he does best as apposed to others that go out on that limb and fall flat. It was slickly written by Luc Besson ("Wasabi" '01, "The Transporter" '02, "Fanfan" '03, "Transporter 2" '05, "Angel-A" '05, "Taken" '08, "Transporter 3" '08, "Colombiana" '11, "Taken 2" '12, "The Family" '13, "3 Days to Kill" '14, "Brick Mansions" '14, "Lucy" '14) and Robert Mark Kamen ("Taps" '81, "The Karate Kid" '84, "Gladiator" '92, "Lethal Weapon 3" '92, "A Walk in the Clouds" '93, "The Fifth Element" '97, "The Transporter" '02, "Transporter 2" '05, "Taken" '08, "Transporter 3" '08, "Colombiana" '11, "Taken 2" '12). These two writers have collaborated on many films and excel well with this combination. They stick together, because as the old adage goes: "if it ain't broke, why fix it?" This was so slickly written and with the different twists and turns, it will keep you glued to that seat from minute one to last. With the exception of a couple of very small choppy areas in script, this was spot on!

Mind you, this is certainly not Oscar material, but if you want a solid, action-packed film with plenty of twists, this is one flick that will fulfill all of those adjectives and then some.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                Rated: PG-13                                109mins.