TAKEN 3 – The Review

I can just see Key and Peele as the two valets screaming “Liam Neesons” as TAKEN 3 goes up on a nearby theatre marquee. Yup, that AARP action hero with a “particular set of skills” is back once more. Hmm, I seem to recall Mr. N doing the talk show circuit just a couple of years ago pushing the second installment, and shaking his head and mouthing “NO!” when the host joked about a part three. Well, he does have a family and those old bones won’t be able to hold up against flailing young stunt men for too many more years. But perhaps I’m being way too cynical, maybe this new story is more than an excuse for gun battles and car chases (and Liam growling into a cell phone). This may show another side of this retired special ops guy. I must admit that I’ve never seen all of the previous outings other that landing on one while checking out midnight cable TV. So I’m going in with somewhat (I’ve seen all the satires and parodies) fresh eyes to experience TAKEN 3.

The film begins when a non-member of Liam’s fam gets, yes, taken. A gaggle of gangsters (Russian, of course, the new go-to ethnic movie baddies) scoop up an accountant to grab some money from a vault. Needless to say, things don’t go well for everyone involved. Cut to our hero Bryan Mills (Neeson) picking up a big stuffed panda as a birthday gift for his college-aged (?!) daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Turns out that she got a very unexpected gift right before Dad shows up. On the drive home, Mills gets a call from his now ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen). He invites her to Dinner, but she passes. And then changes her mind that night. She vents about her troubles with new hubby Stuart and attempts to rekindle the old flame between the two. But honorable Bryan will have none of this extra-marital hanky-panky and she leaves. The next night Stuart himself (Dougray Scott) shows up at his place, politely asking Bryan to cut ties with Lenore. Well, oddly enough, Bryan gets a text from her the next morning, asking to come by and talk over bagels. When he returns from the deli, Bryan discovers her lifeless body lying on his bed (of course he picks up and inspects the blood-stained knife nearby). And hey, somebody tipped off the cops, who burst in seconds after his arrival. Mills knows that he’s been set-up, so those “particular skills” kick in, and  he easily evades capture. Mills is on the run, aided by some old spy pals (Leland Orser and Jon Gries) and Kim. While avoiding arrest by the authorities, lead by dogged chief detective Dotzler (Forest Whitaker), he tries to track down the real killers. But can he take them out before they reunite him with the late Lenore?

Neeson seems to almost be on auto-pilot for much of the film. At the start, he’s the ultimate loving father and warm, caring confidant to his ex. It’s quite endearing, but then blood is spilled and it’s as if a switch is flicked and he’s grim, action automaton. He’s still a believable brawler while often being far too proficient to the point of parody. Grace doesn’t join in on the fracas until late in the third act, but makes a most realistic young woman inching into adulthood, but still closely connected to both parents. Perhaps she can get in on the stunts in a spin-off (I know, don’t give them any ideas!). Scott tries to avoid the evil step-parent clichés, but reeks of suspicious motives very early on. The big addition in this entry is the Oscar-winning Whitaker who looks to be trying to give his character some quirks in order to make him a bit more memorable than another riff on Tommy Lee Jones as Sam Gerard in THE FUGITIVE. When he’s not barking at clueless underlings , Dotzler twirls a chess piece and snaps a rubber band around his hands. Perhaps he thought these bits of “business” would enhance this thankless role of determined, but too slow, pursuer.

Director Oliver Megaton (what a moniker!) directs the opening sequences in a flat, TV-like manner, as if anxious to get to the good stuff, the action. When it is time for a fight or a chase, he composes the images in a flashy, chopped up manner, with no shot lasting more than a second or so making it difficult to follow the opponents and keep track of the settings. Often it becomes a headache-inducing strobe-like effect. More confusing than chaotic. Many times the script is just marking time till the next stunt set piece (highway chase, grocery store shootout, etc.). Unfortunately he does slow down long enough for a protracted, too close to reality, waterboarding sequence (we get it, move on!). And the mystery behind the big set-up is ludicrous and convoluted, just a reason for Mills to kick you-know-what. Action fans may get their jollies, but after the inspired mayhem in last year’s THE EQUALIZER and JOHN WICK, this film may seem to be going-through-the-motions pedestrian. Time for Bryan Mills and his unlucky family to head into action hero Valhalla.

2 Out of 5