[Movie Review] “Taken 3” has too little action

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson). (Yahoo Singapore)
Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson). (Yahoo Singapore)

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No. 

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? No. 

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 109 minutes (~2 hours)

“Taken 3” is the third in the “Taken” series of action films, which usually revolve around various family members of Liam Neeson’s character being kidnapped, and his subsequently violent quests to save them. This instalment sees our protagonist being framed for a murder, and his resultant efforts to find the true murderer while evading pursuit. It stars Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills), Forest Whitaker (Inspector Franck Dotzler), Maggie Grace (Kim Mills), Famke Janssen (Lenore Mills), and Dougray Scott (Stuart St John).

Fortunately for all concerned, nobody gets kidnapped in “Taken 3,” ie nobody’s “taken.” Good to see that the bad guys have wisened up. Unfortunately, instead of taking someone, they decide to frame Bryan Mills instead. It’s a little surprising that anybody would dare to touch him or his family members at this point, but if you can overlook this omission, you’d probably be able to overlook the other illogical points in this film as well.

Lenore Mills (Famke Janssen). (Yahoo Singapore)
Lenore Mills (Famke Janssen). (Yahoo Singapore)

Highlights

Inspector Franck Dotzler is a fun comic foil to Bryan Mills

Dotzler is a bundle of quirks rather than an actual rounded character. However, Forest Whitaker gives him a perpetually sarcastic smile through the film, as if he knows what he’s investigating is completely ridiculous. He comes through in the end and proves his competency, establishing that he is, indeed, a worthy foil to the serious and formidable Bryan.

Maggie Grace shows maturity in her performance as Kim

Surprisingly, Maggie Grace provides the best acting in this film. That’s not saying much, unfortunately. She does show more nuanced expressions and provides more layered performances in “Taken 3,” which makes her the most watchable of the cast. The other characters play straightforward and stereotyped characters. Then again, you’re probably looking forward to the action, and not the character performances.

Bryan Mills takes down another flunky. (Yahoo Singapore)
Bryan Mills takes down another flunky. (Yahoo Singapore)

Letdowns

Too little action

If you’re looking forward to the action (Liam Neeson’s murderous rampage through his enemies!), you’re going to be disappointed. Compared to the actual run time, only a small percentage of the film is devoted to fisticuffs and brawling. The movie is more about investigating a murder mystery and some cringeworthy drama tossed in for good measure. Sure, there are explosions, but that’s another can of worms.

Nonsensical explosions and special effects

The effects are ambitious, but fall short of believability. It’s hard to actually use the word “believability” in a movie about an already outlandish concept, but that’s what the explosions force you to do. They don’t look realistic or even plausible. Objects blow up spectacularly for the flimsiest of reasons. It’s not so much bad CGI as it is over-the-top destruction and mayhem that doesn’t serve a point.

Turgid pacing

Even the action scenes suffer from the incredibly slow pacing of the film. Many scenes could have been shorter instead of belabouring beats that have already been established, and several reveals turn out to be what we expected all along. And given the severe lack of action in the film, a faster pace could really have helped make this movie watchable.

The supposed mystery of the antagonist

When there are so few characters featured, the identity of the antagonist becomes very obvious within the first Act. Yet the film plays it up like some terrible betrayal, when it’s pretty obvious from the beginning who the bad guy is. It’s only a matter of motivation, which is dutifully spelt out later in the film.

Bryan Mills takes down his strange foe. (Yahoo Singapore)
Bryan Mills takes down his strange foe. (Yahoo Singapore)

“Taken 3” fails at providing the violent catharsis that’s expected of the “Taken” series. This is only exacerbated by the predictable plot balancing on an absurd premise, resulting a huge disappointment of a film. “Taken 3” could have been so much better.

“Taken 3” opens in cinemas 18January, 2015 (Thursday).

This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.

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