Review of Taken 3 (2014) by Agarcia732 — 14 Jan 2015

I was excited to hear that the Taken films would become a trilogy, because I had loved Taken (and had watched it so many times I could remember most of its iconic lines). The first Taken was dark, gritty, and very personal for Bryan Mills--his daughter was abducted and was soon going to be prostituted, he had little time to find her, and they were growing apart as she grew older. Taken 2 was not as good as the first one, but respectable in its own right. Taken really felt like standalone story, so Taken 2 detracted from that and kind of felt unnecessary. Nevertheless, I honestly don’t know why people complained so much about Taken 2. Taken 2 expanded well on the characters and furthered themes from Taken. Sure, Taken 2 might’ve seemingly pulled a “Hangover 2” move and became a rehashed version of it’s predecessor. But it had some interesting juxtaposition, as Bryan and Murad (father of Marko, who was tortured then killed by Mills in Taken) were both fathers seeking what they viewed as rightful vengeance for actions perpetrated against their offspring. Taken and especially Taken 2 also both had exotic scenery & locations in Europe (Paris in T1and Istanbul in T2), which really helped sell the films.

Taken 3 probably made a good choice when it decided to NOT have the film’s plot revolve around someone being “taken”. (How come they never use the word abducted or kidnapped?) However, being set in a typical American city (Los Angeles) and using a pretty generic story (innocent person framed for a crime, must find ones responsible) both didn’t set the odds in Taken 3’s favor. The whole “framed” trope is not a very effective plot device, because *SPOILERS* Stuart (Lenore’s husband) and Oleg Malankov (Stuart’s boss, of a sort) were both involved in Lenore’s murder, not as revenge against Bryan, but because of an unpaid debt between the two (and to get her life insurance money). Lenore was killed as punishment from Oleg Malankov against Stuart. Therefore, there is no real meaningful conflict between Malankov and Bryan, as Bryan was simply involved in the entire mess as a scapegoat (and Malankov is set as a villain far too late into the film). Even though Malankov is supposedly some sort of badass, he is a terrible shot and cannot get a single hit on Bryan. Bryan and Stuart's dynamic happens to be convoluted and unsatisfactory.

Taken 3 is honestly sub-par and mediocre, especially compared to it's predecessors. I don't even know why Forest Whitaker is in T3; he is such a stereotypical by-the-book cop. I think another actor (Denzel W, Idris E, Samuel L. J) might've been better suited for his role. Unlike Taken 1&2, little time is spent on further developing characters, as the film is very fast-paced. There is action, but it is not very tense or exciting. How are we even supposed to root for Mills to fully kick ass when he's sometimes going up against American cops and possibly endangering civilians? Not to be racist, but it was easy to cheer Mills on as he defeated hordes of evil foreigners. (You could tell from looks who was a bad guy! :P) In chase scenes, shaky camera work truly ruins the fun; they're very choppily and awkwardly edited as well. CGI and big stunt sequences look low budget; Taken 1&2 looked better! The whole film is a half-assed conclusion to the Taken films, with mediocre acting, an uninspired plot, cliche and stereotypical characters (smart person has chess piece & rubberband to fiddle with), "dues ex machina" moments, unimpressive and overdone action sequences, etc. I blame Olivier Megatone and the other crew members (screenwriter, camera crew) for the faults of what could've been a satisfying conclusion to the Taken trilogy.

However, despite everything I said earlier, I cannot deny that some younger (funny cause I am pretty young) and more carefree part of me enjoyed watching Bryan Mills have one last adventure (if indeed this is the last Taken film). I have some fond movie memories of Liam Neeson, and I enjoy most of his films (like Non-Stop in 2014). If you're not as cynical or critical as most movie critics eventually become, you may very well enjoy Taken 3.

Score: 6.9.

I have reviewed 38 other movies, including the 2014 films: The Interview, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Dracula Untold, The Maze Runner, Nightcrawler, The Equalizer, The Expendables 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Giver, Sharknado 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Edge of Tomorrow, X-Men Days of Future Past, Godzilla, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Divergent, Transcendence, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, and more.

I review TV shows, such as: The Flash, Arrow (Season 3), Gotham, The Last Ship, Sleepy Hollow, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (Season 1 and 2), The 100, I Wanna Marry Harry, Crisis, Gang Related, and more. I also have reviewed the mobile Android games Minecraft Pocket Edition, Clash of Clans, and Five Night's at Freddy's.