Taken 3 Movie Blurb by Shale January 16, 2015 Here's the bad news. Rotten Tomatoes aggregate critics gave it only a 10% fresh (OUCH!) and only about half of audiences liked it. The consensus was, "Hampered by toothless PG-13 action sequences, incoherent direction, and a hackneyed plot, Taken 3 serves as a clear signal that it's well past time to retire this franchise." Here's the good news. I liked it. Time to bring out my axiom: I enjoy bad movies. Being the second sequel and suffering as most sequels do by not quite capturing the novelty of an original movie idea, this will likely be the end of this franchise. Taken 2 suffered the same critical response in 2012 with only an 18% good rating but at that time 76% of audiences, including me liked it. I suppose I related to Neeson's character being a little more relaxed and showing a human side than in the previous movies. That is, until the baddies come on scene. Actually, the movie opens with the baddies on scene as they are pressuring someone who owes them money. Again, the really scary ppl are Russian mobsters with ugly black tattoos. But the next scene is Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) getting a birthday present for his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). As he leaves he talks with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) who later informs him she is having marriage problems with her husband Stuart St. John (Dougray Scott). As mentioned in the trailers (not a spoiler) Bryan's wife is murdered and he is set up as the killer. This is where the action starts as Bryan gets arrested, escapes, does some investigation, gets arrested again and escapes again. He has a particular set of skills after all. Bryan Mills at Work However, he is being pursued by a cop who is onto his abilities, Inspector Franck Dotzler (Forest Whitaker), who is fast learning that the man he has to bring in may not be the murderer (at least not of Lenore - Russian mob bodies start piling up). Inspector Dotzler on the Case Bryan brings in his old retired CIA operative pals to help him solve the murder, protect his daughter and clear his name. Father-Daughter Chat This likely will be the last flick of this franchise, altho there is one slight opening for another sequel. But it's five years since the first movie and Neeson is 61 years old now, not quite suited for this kind of action, which is hard to believe even when played by a younger, more fit man. And, with Famke Janssen out of the picture, it would just be him and his daughter as main characters. So, it ends here (probably).
