Taken 3

The Taken series comes to a (possible) close with this third entry, in which Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills embarks on a quest to clear his name (and track down the real killer) after he’s falsely accused of murder. Though it boasts a superb and action-packed third act, Taken 3, the longest of the franchise, has been saddled with an erratic opening hour that admittedly proves a test to one’s patience – as director Olivier Megaton, working from Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen’s script, places an ongoing emphasis on the exploits of several periphery characters. This is especially true of Megaton’s decision to spend far more time than necessary with Forest Whitaker’s pursuing detective, as the film takes a demonstrable hit each and every time the action cuts away from Mill’s engaging antics. It doesn’t help, either, that the movie’s midsection suffers from a paucity of precisely the sort of action that one might’ve expected, with one’s desire to see Liam Neeson’s character punch and kick his way through various baddies left unsatiated until the aforementioned final act. (The movie’s problems are exacerbated by Megaton’s incompetent direction, as the filmmaker suffuses each and every action sequence with a jittery, kinetic feel that renders such moments virtually unintelligible.) The viewer is, however, rewarded with a tremendously entertaining climax that delivers everything that one might’ve expected and hoped for, and it’s clear that the effectiveness of this stretch essentially compensates for the inconsistency of everything preceding it – which ultimately confirms Taken 3‘s place as a sequel that’s right in line with its immediate predecessor (ie neither of these films come close to the highs reached by the 2008 original).

*** out of ****