Review of Taken 3 (2014) by Moviemaniac83 — 21 Apr 2015

After “Non-Stop,” “Unknown” and three installments of the “Taken” thrillers, I’m not sure that Liam Neeson’s signature avengers are actually good people to know. On the plus side, they’ll use any means necessary to rescue you from kidnappers and killers. But if you’ve been kidnapped or are facing death, it’s probably directly related to knowing Mr. Neeson’s character in the first place, or just being nearby.

In “Taken 3” — Olivier Megaton’s embarrassingly flat sequel about the retired government agent Bryan Mills (Mr. Neeson) — the agent’s daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and his former wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), run into grief yet again. One dies; the other cries; and it all has something to do with a pale Russian gangster (Sam Spruell) and the latest rich-jerk husband (Dougray Scott) to succeed Bryan.

But there’s little story to speak of, beyond Mr. Neeson’s racing around fighting for the truth, pursued by a Los Angeles detective (Forest Whitaker).

A running fantasy of wronged divorced-dad nobility, the series here continues its ritualized plot points. Mr. Neeson babies Kimmy with a childish gift and balks at some completely normal step in her adulthood. He has a barbecue with the fellas (also veterans of covert ops). He makes a very serious cellphone call or two, announcing that someone is being taken, or giving very clear directions. He becomes a righteous fugitive whose rampages (up to and including waterboarding) are rationalized through fatherhood.

More important, Mr. Megaton’s direction of action sequences borders on atrocious. Ragged camerawork and editing ruin freeway car chases and hand-to-hand combat alike.

The logy screenplay, by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, sags under head-clutchingly banal dramatic scenes. Only Mr. Neeson’s appeal somehow survives unscathed, perhaps the most impressive stunt of all.