MOVIE REVIEW - Taken 3

Here comes the poster child movie for one that critics are slamming without mercy, and audiences are loving.

Taken 3, continues the story of ex-special ops and OCD hero Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) and his family. The original Taken was a really fun, tidy thrill ride that we all loved.  Behind all of its bells and whistles, it was a father moving Heaven and Earth to save his daughter from kidnappers.  Taken 2, was not as good, as we had to relive his wife AND daughter being taken again.  And the end result was the same, strike another one for the good guys.

Taken 3, is a bit of a stretch, but it again is a dad protecting his daughter.  But this time there are some new wrinkles.  Brian's ex-wife (Famke Janssen) is murdered, and the whole thing is set up to make it look like Brian did it. So he is on the run, trying to find the killer, and trying to protect his daughter (Maggie Grace) from the same fate. All the while, he is being chased by the Los Angeles cops for the murder.  There are plenty of huge action and chase scenes, and much of this is hard to swallow, as a ton of silliness is blended in.  There was plenty in the first two, but now we may be getting weary of it.  It just looks a bit more obvious here.

But a great choice was the casting of Forest Whitaker as the lead investigator chasing Brian. Whitaker makes any movie better, even a marginal one.  This movie, (although not in the same class at all)  takes on The Fugitive's formula.  A sympathetic, innocent hero on the run from a dogged, smart and really great character developed here by Whitaker.  You like both characters and are a bit conflicted on who to cheer for, actually wishing them both the best. The formula got The Fugitive tons of Oscar nominations and a win for Tommy Lee Jones who played the colorful cop. There will be no Oscars here.

This is an easy target for critics to hammer away on for tons of reasons, most of them apt.  But it's mid-January, and we need a little silly and mindless action to get us through it. I think everyone needs just to take a deep breath and remember they can't all change cinematic history. There is an attempt to freshen this a bit, but over all it is just an action movie, nothing special. This does miss some of the drama of the first one especially. Neeson is asked here to basically be an action hero, and not a great actor as he was in the original. And that's a huge problem.  This is far more concerned with smash-em-up than act-em-up, and that's a shame.

To this series credit, it does look like it may be over.  Plus, Neeson may be a bit too old to redo this role in two years. He has lost an edge or two.  Also, this series has maintained a PG-13 rating throughout with minimal harsh language and although violent, not graphic or bloody.  And that is well done.

Taken 3.  It is what it is. Let's hope this series takes itself off into the sunset before it screws it all up and destroys the original premise.