We currently live in the age of the sequel. Though it’s a fine line that all franchise-starters walk, sometimes that’s a good thing. The likes of Tim Burton’s original two Batman films as well as the “Alien” saga have proven that you can gloriously extend a franchise’s world and its characters with each additional installment. But, sadly, then there are those sequels that try and stretch an original film’s idea too far, only to end up making a half-hearted train-wreck of a morbid imitation that merely spits in the face of its prior classic. “Taken 3” is exactly that: hindered by ambitionless PG-13-style action sequences, noticeably incoherent direction, and a painfully unimaginative plot, Liam Neeson’s latest and highly UNimpressive action thriller serves as a clear sign that its well past the time to retire this franchise. Now that this long-promised sequel has finally arrived, it’s managed to succeed in sucking the remaining good will and joy from Liam Neeson’s action repertoire. Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the former CIA operative who’s dolling out pain and suffering to anyone who stands in his way, all because of another injustice that has befallen his estranged family. This time, rather than his daughter or his ex-wife being kidnapped, the latter is murdered. Naturally, Bryan is framed for it. After eluding the first police officers on the scene, Mills goes into hiding and looks to clear his name. Along the way, an assortment of new characters chase after him: there’s Stuart St. John, the victim’s new husband whom she has recently been having marital issues with, theres Forest Whitaker’s smart-as-a-whip Detective Dotzler, there are some Russian gangsters, as well as a posse of Bryan Mills’ agency pals who aid him in his fight. Plus, the LAPD attempt to help the investigation, but instead they’re routinely decimated whenever they even come close to Mills’ particular set of skills The utter failure that is “Taken 3” comes as a legitimately surprising shame, because lest we forget that the first “Taken” film was a rollicking rollercoaster of impressively slick action when it originally hit cinemas. It had nothing else on its mind other than being brainless fun, and despite being as predictable as a sunrise, it delivered what it intended in a brisk, satisfying manner. And of the course, the fact that it was made on a relatively stringent budget and went on to gross $226.8 million always meant that more Bryan Mills tales would follow; “Taken 2” duly arrived and was by far the lesser of the two. It had none of the charm, shocks or thrills of its predecessor, and the fact that it had been rushed into cinemas to capitalize on the original’s success was plainly evident on screen. But, to its credit, for a sequel it made money. A ton of money. In fact, it grossed even more than “Taken.” So, depressingly, to no surprise and despite its parade of cinematic atrocities, “Taken 3” was immediately greenlit…….and I’m here to tell you that it is BY FAR the absolute WORST of the three, if not THE WORST ACTION FILM I THINK I’VE EVER SEEN. And I thought “Expendables 3” was bad? Yikes! Although, it’s both hard and easy to hate “Taken 3.” On the one hand, it’s just great to once again see Liam Neeson back in action, kicking everyone’s asses and blowing shit up, doing what he’s done best for the longest time. He’s smart, he’s savvy, and his character continues to demonstrate a solid knack for explosive antics with an entertaining theme. On the other hand…”Taken 3” is riddled with flaw upon flaw UPON FLAW. It’s a sequel with the most flaws compared to any other. Not only is the dialogue poor and the emotional tone confused, but also the acting in itself is appalling, the pace feels inconsistent, and the audience is once again presented with a cliched, stereotypically voluptuous and psychotic Russian baddy; seriously, I’m getting incredibly bored with the whole ‘Russian bad guy’ Hollywood dilemma. Branch out a little folks, there are more countries out there with far worse and more menacing people to cinematically exploit! And that’s not all: Liam Neeson is starting to show his age. Neeson is 62 years old, and whereas before he has succeeded in using a stellar performance combined with a convincing taste for obliteration to hide that quality about himself, with “Taken 3” he’s not so lucky. When he runs, it’s like he’s fighting off a cracked ankle or a broken hip; when he climbs a fence, you can almost feel the heart-attack setting in; when he’s beating a cocky villain to a bloody pulp, it’s obvious in the throws he punches that he’s too tired to keep going. It’s like watching a 90-something-year-old man trying to fend off some foes with his walker while simultaneously suffering from a case of the hemorrhoids. And it doesn’t end there – most of the action pieces that Neeson’s Bryan Mills walks away from seemingly without a single scratch are too impossible to survive. Now I know this is Liam Neeson we’re talking about, and I know it’s an action flick, but there still has to be that little flicker of plausibility somewhere. In “Taken 3”, there isn’t any. At one point, Neeson’s car is forced off the road, rolls down a hill, crashes, and explodes. Neeson survives, providentially but predictably, and later he explains how; based on his presentation, I’d say that in reality he should’ve been crawling through the grass with a chunk of fender in his chest, gasping for breath while choking on his own blood. On top of all that, the opening 20 minutes literally play out like a bad soap opera, so much so that it’s feasible those pages of the script were lifted straight out of ‘Days Of Our Lives.’ Not only is there a surprise pregnancy, but there is also an extramarital kiss and a murder, plus the story is also populated with an excess of lame jokes that will almost certainly make you contemplate suicide. Why does “Taken 3” begin in such a lame manner? I can only imagine it is the screenwriters way of trying to build up tension and heart before the action truly kicks in – it succeeds in doing neither. We don’t care about Bryan Mills and his family this time out. They have become oh-so-very dull. We just want to see him shooting, stabbing, and kicking people in an original, surprising and clever fashion; unfortunately, those moments never arrive. Its impossible to be impressed by Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills because the men he goes up against are so preposterously inept. You already know why “Taken 3” fails miserably. It has the same nauseatingly bad script, predictably tedious plot, offensively clichéd characterization and lifeless action that has populated hundreds of lame action films before it. Total assessment? Don’t let the trailer fool you: “Taken 3” is a complete waste of time. https://youtube/watch?v=HZaDbUofNgE
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 09:43:57 +0000
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