Can people leave Bryan Mills and his family alone

The answer is no.

Liam Neeson has risen himself into stardom over the last six years, and at age 62, he makes action look easy. One movie we owe that to is Luc Besson’s original Taken, a riveting, explosive and gosh darn all-around excellent action film, one of the best of the last six years. I walked into Taken with a clear sense of how it was going to end. That being said, for that film’s crisp 90-minute run time, I was captivated and on the edge of my seat. Watching Neeson utter those now iconic lines, “I will find you, and I will kill you,” was like music to my ears.

The movie went on to be a HUGE runaway success at the box office (and earned a spot on my best movies of 2009), and just when you thought the story was over and nicely resolved—

We got a sequel.

Taken 2 was one of the biggest disappointments in the history of ever. I know you should not have expected much, but I did. It’s ironic because I did not have high expectations for Taken. The unbecoming sequel took all the unnecessary ploys and gimmicks and pretty much remade the same movie. The action was iffy, the plot was convoluted, and well, it was just boring to watch. As horrible as that movie was, Fox executives thought it would be a good idea…

TO MAKE YET ANOTHER SEQUEL.

The tagline for Taken 3, “It Ends Here,” hopefully seals it’s own fate. Taken 3 is lightyears ahead of its predecessor, partially because it has a plot that it knows what to do with. Although the movie tries to eroticate twists and kabooms, it’s just as blatant and unnecessary as the other sequel.

Everyone on the planet apparently wants a piece of Bryan Mills (seeing how badass he is in the first two, you question why anyone would mess with him). This time, instead of someone being “taken,” Mills (Neeson) is forced to go on the run after he is being framed explicitly for the murder of his ex-wife, Leonore (Famke Janssen). All signs point to him—but wait. He is innocent and will prove it.

The problem this time around lies in the muddy exposition and terribly misplaced edited action sequences. The film bounces around like a pebble, back and forth and never settling for a tone that made the first so memorable. Liam Neeson is fun to watch (as always), but he can’t save every movie from oblivion. By the time we do reach the conclusion, the plot is so mismatched and predictable you’re gonna slap yourself anyway for paying money to see this.

For what it’s worth, Taken 3 has the advantage of (finally) being the last one. The film really goes out on a whimper, and I’m still clueless as to whether this series is ending or not and if we will get some closure. (You would think the FIRST one could give us closure). If you really want to save time, just stay in and rent the first Taken. Not only is that a good option equally, it’s far more substantially the best movie.

Now for goodness sake…leave Bryan Mill’s daughter alone!

C

Directed By: Olivier Megaton

Rated: PG13

Runtime: 107 mins

Studio: Fox

Release Date: January 9th 2015

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