Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) lives in Los Angeles, playing golf with his Special Ops buddies, and providing support to his ex-wife Lenore ( Famke Janssen), who is unhappy in her marriage to sweaty Stuart ( Dougray Scott) and reaches out to Bryan for comfort and bagels and maybe something more. "Taken 3" also has international criminals, but changes the formula, and from here on out there will be spoilers. "Taken" and "Taken 2" were abduction dramas, featuring first the abduction of a daughter, then an ex-wife, by nefarious international criminals. Even the slower, more intimate family scenes feature so many swooping-up-from-below shots and so many sudden inserts that moments (emotional or physical) are never given a chance to land. It's just a frantic, flash-cutting frenzy. "Taken 3" doesn't want to take the time to set things up carefully or clearly, so that while you can perceive that you are on the highway out to Malibu, or careening along the 405, the film doesn't use the specific landscape or architecture to help tell its story. Many didn't care for the sequel, but I liked it a lot, especially the cinematic use of the architecture in Istanbul, which showed a real understanding for how action happening in a very specific landscape can be exciting and suspenseful. "Taken" and "Taken 2" were preposterous, but entertaining: care had been given to the plot as well as the filming so that they worked as thrillers. Anchored, as always, by a sincere performance by Liam Neeson, as well as the additional gravitas provided by Forest Whitaker as the police officer tracking Neeson down, the film pulses with indifference. Starting with the unimaginative (and, as it happens, incorrect) title, "Taken 3," directed by Oliver Megaton, is both lazy and tremendously overwrought.
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Just make sure to buy a caffeinated beverage, because this movie is one wild, exhausting ride.After racking up a daunting body count in both France (" Taken") and Turkey (" Taken 2"), the destructive Mills family (who really should consider going into the witness protection program, not only for their own safety, but for ours) turn their sights on the sunny freeways of their home town, Los Angeles, in "Taken 3". This action-packed film is a nail-biter worth seeing. While the beginning of “Taken 2” does its part in chronicling the impact her trauma has had on her everyday life, the end seems to be a poor attempt in displaying growth in her character. The ending in “Taken” left the viewer questioning how Kim could return to such a normal life after her traumatizing experiences. The resolution of this thriller gives the viewer some time to catch their breath from the up to the second action that dominated the film. Mills’ actions, specifically, remind the viewer of his past in the CIA and his specific set of mind-blowing skills. The techniques and expert skills Mills used to escape death were mind-blowing, and with up to the very last second action, this movie can truly be called a thriller.Īt times of heightened excitement, the decisions and actions of Mills and Kim against their enemies awe the viewer. Touches of character development throughout the film make the viewer feel the rush of adrenaline when one of these characters conquers a fear or fights for their life. Otherwise, the progression of the film was extremely exciting. Kim was able to share the role of hero with her father, which was a nice touch. Mills’ daughter, Kim (played by Maggie Grace), proved instrumental in Mills’ escape and rescue of his wife.
Throughout the film, I expected Neeson’s character to come to the rescue, but getting to that point was a wild ride. However, after Mills and his wife were taken, I found myself on the edge of my seat wondering if his daughter would be kidnapped or escape.
The first quarter of the film was quite predictable, mostly because the trailer for the film had to give away a brief plot summary. The film follows Mills on his quest to save his wife and insure his daughter’s safety. The father of a man Mills killed in the process of rescuing his daughter from the sex trafficking ring returns for revenge and kidnaps Mills and his wife, with his daughter narrowly avoiding being kidnapped. “Taken 2” stars Neeson as retired CIA operative Bryan Mills. Now he may be able to add to that list two-time hero, potentially saving his daughter and wife in “Taken 2,” the sequel to thriller “Taken,” from being an object in the world sex trade. Liam Neeson has played the man who trained Obi Wan, Batman and led the A-team. OctoLiam Neeson stars as former CIA agent Bryan Mills in the exhilerating sequel to “Taken.”