Film synopsis
Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is accused of murdering his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and now turns to his “particular set of skills” in order to evade the CIA, FBI and police, all while trying to figure out who killed his ex-wife.
My thoughts on the film
Everyone can agree that Taken 2 was a big miss, but the third installment is definitely different. Why? Well, no one gets taken. You read that correctly. Taken 3 has nothing to do with someone being taken away from Bryan Mills. With that said, does Taken 3 give us reason to love the franchise again? No, not really. Taken 3 is certainly a step up compared to the last installment, but it doesn’t get back to why we loved the first film.
As mentioned in the synoposis, Liam Neeson’s character Bryan Mills is accused of murdering his ex-wife, so he needs to use those set of skills that makes us love Neeson and practically any action character he plays going forward. The action is what we come to expect from Neeson, but it’s the weak casting and awful storyline that really puts a sour taste in your mouth. There’s nothing worse than having an antagonist that falls flat, especially compared to Neeson. As for the storyline, writer Luc Besson simply had the idea of just an action film with no substance, hoping for Neeson to carry it all, but the lack of effort is evident and it’s too bad. Digging deeper into Besson, I found something I wish I never found. There are 3 more Transporter films coming our way, which doesn’t seem to star Jason Statham. If that doesn’t leave a sour taste in your mouth, I don’t know what does.
Thankfully, Taken 3 seems to be the final film to wrap up this franchise. There were a few lines at the end that could possibly see a 4th and after finding out about Transporter 4, 5 and 6, I wouldn’t be surprised if writer Luc Besson reboots this franchise in the next five years.
Rating 3/5
Overall, Taken 3 is a bit of an upgrade over the second, but it is nowhere near the first film we have come to enjoy and love. With that said, Liam Neeson always brings his ‘A’ game and he brings it in Taken 3.
Taken 3 is now playing.
