Despite all the strikes Taken 3 has against it — bizarrely-shot action sequences, hamfisted dialogue, weird plot holes — at least writer Luc Besson and director Olivier Megaton have made the movie about something other than franchise protagonist Bryan Mills getting his daughter back.
This time around, Mills (Liam Neeson) is tasked with clearing his own name when he’s suspected of murdering his wife Lenore (Famke Janssen). With Inspector Franck Dotzler (Forest Whitaker) on his tail, Mills must get to the bottom of why he was framed and who’s behind it.
Though there is some tension at the beginning of the movie as it introduces the “villain” Oleg Malankov (Sam Spruell), that is quickly lost and not really regained thanks to the lengthy character reintroductions. We learn that Mills’ daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is pregnant, and we learn that Lenore is having problems with her husband Stuart (Dougray Scott).
These scenes are made painful because they leave zero to the imagination — Lenore blatantly tells Mills she’s unhappy in her marriage and fantasizes about being with him. Kim makes a point of saying she feels sad.
Soon after, the murder happens, and the action picks up, but only slightly. There are a couple of chase scenes as the hapless police try and fail to catch Mills, while the inspector examines the crime scenes afterward and points his force in the right direction. But even the action scenes are bewildering, thanks to the frequent quick cuts. It’s hard to keep track of where Mills is in relation to his pursuers.
There are many more moments in the film that will make the audience laugh, but unfortunately it’s not because the film has much of a sense of humour. One chase scene ends with a car falling down an elevator shaft and causing a ridiculous-looking explosion. The film has a strange obsession with bagels. Dotzler’s clinging to a chess piece and playing with rubber bands isn’t really explained and doesn’t add any characterization. And there are many other oddities.
In 2012, Liam Neeson said a third Taken movie would be unlikely. Looking at the results, perhaps it should have just stayed as an unlikely possibility.
