Movie Review: Taken 3

TAKEN was fun, introducing to the world Liam Neeson as Action Grandpa.  TAKEN 2 was a good sequel -- it had the elements of the first TAKEN, while amping the action up and sticking to the concept.  TAK3N (or TAKEN 3) is where Liam Neeson follows the path of Steven Seagal.

A good hero is only as good as his nemesis, in this particular Taken, the main antagonist is arguably the Fed (I'm not particularly sure if he's FBI) Franck Dotzler, played by Forest Whitaker, whose idea of solving crime consists of telling his subordinates that his opponent is too good for basic policework (like chasing obvious leads including looking through timestamps).

Anyway, who watches Taken for the plot or the story eh?  I bet you read FHM for the articles.

All in all, the movie is fun, but in the light of a lackluster opponent and plot holes the size of delivery vans, it got in the way of my enjoyment of this installment of the series.  Even the twists, such as they were, ended up meh.  The emotional impact of having a father do absolutely anything and everything to save his pretty daughter (something that the first and second Takens had, in spades) is dampened by the fact that Neeson seems to have everything on hand, and nothing, not Feds, nor gangsters or other not-so-villainous characters, could stop him.  

I know that this is what Taken is all about, but man, sometimes it's not really about the destination and all about the journey.  But this terrible lack of anything remotely threatening or challenging for Bryan Mills in this movie is fast sending him towards the path where Steven Seagal headed back in the day, that is, Mr. I-Am-Too-Good-and-Invunerable-so-why-do-my-opponents-even-bother.

Lesson Learned: Never wear your undies when taking on Bryan Mills, Kevlar might be a better choice

Verdict: 2/5 Who am I kidding? Everyone will still be watching this movie, including me.

+ Liam Neeson

+ Other familiar faces

- Liam Neeson

- Lacklustre action scenes -- they're pretty lazily done

- Forest Whitaker = Meh

Details:

Release Date: January 14, 2015

Genre: Action, Old People Action

Running Time: 109 Mins based on IMDB

Notable Stars: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Dougray Scott (and his awful American Accent)

Seen On: Fisher Mall, the Cinema with restrooms inside

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2446042/