TAK3N: Should you take it or leave it?

Movie:  Taken 3  or as it's advertised, TAK3N

PG-13, 1 hour 33 minutes

Grade:  C

In a Nutshell:

·         Liam Neeson is forever tough and gruff with lines like “Try anything funny and they’ll kill you.  And if they don’t, I will.”

      I love Liam Neeson, but I have to admit that he is getting a little too old for this kind of stuff.  There are so many edited cuts in every scene, as if the director (Olivier Megaton) could only use the footage where Liam doesn't look like he's getting tired.  Don't get me wrong; I still love watching him kick butt, but this franchise is becoming its own farce.

      If you love Liam Neeson, this is a watchable bad movie.  Prepare to laugh out loud at some of the many ridiculous moments.

Uplifting Theme:

* Family first.  As Bryan Mills says "My first priority is the safety of my daughter."

Things I liked:
* Watching Liam's character Bryan Mills is like watching MacGyver's Yoda.
*  Forest Whitaker does a fine job with the cliched character he is given.

Things I didn’t like:

·        My son described it well when he said "Taken 3 makes Taken 2 look like Taken 1.  ha ha
      This time, the movie takes place in the United States, but it’s still loaded with Russian thugs who smoke cigars, sit in hot tubs with scantily clad women, and say things like “Okay. Let’s go get drunk.”
   ·         You’d think by now that Bryan’s daughter Kim (played by Maggie Grace) would have learned some self-defense moves just in case.  She spends most of the movie puddled on the floor with her mother’s scarf.

·         Don’t you love how everyone has top notch firearms, but can never hit their mark except Liam Neeson?

·         A pockmarked Russian bad guy fighting in a white Speedo.  Ick.

·         The movie poster says “It ends here", but there is clearly a set up for Taken 4.
       There are so many unbelievable moments, that the result isn't that you have to suspend your disbelief, but that you are numbed into submission.
*   While there are a couple of twists (I LOVE twists), the bad guys are predictable and cliched.
*    There are so many points in the movie that just aren't explained.

·          

Funny lines:

·         “Interesting family.” – Franck Dotzler
*    "Bagels." - Bryan

Observations:

·         Malankov has stairs in his penthouse without banisters.  I’d totally fall off.
      SPOILER ALERT: In the shot where Bryan is water boarding Stewart, the amount of Stewart's shirt that is wet changes in between shots.

·         It's absurd that Liam tosses machine guns and AR-15's on the floor and instead, prefers his handgun.  I would have kept both.
      I gotta get me some Special Opps friends in case I ever get in trouble.

Tips for Parents:  The body count is high (of course), along with profanity and violence...all expected for this kind of film.

If you want to watch a better film that has the same plot of an innocent man being framed for his wife's death, one of my all-time favorites is The Fugitive

If you missed the first two Taken installments (which were better than this 3rd one), you can check them out here for super cheap: