Taken 3 [Blu-ray] [2014] [US Import]

I'll be honest, I have both Taken and Taken 2 in my collection. I did not really see a need for a 3rd, but we all know movie studios (namely Fox) capitalize off of a franchise they see to be successful. And that being said we have the movie Tak3n.

Tak3n brings back Bryan Mills who again is trying to live a normal life. Bryan's ex-wife Lenore is having second thoughts about her current marriage to Stuart-and beginning to rekindle her feelings toward Bryan. After Bryan later receives a text from Lenore requesting to meet at his place to bring bagels, Bryan buys the bagels and arrives home; but what he arrives home to is something not even he saw coming.

Liam Neeson is fantastic once again as the character Bryan Mills. Possessing both uncanny intelligence and elite fighting skills, he shows an unstoppable determination to solve the mystery of the movie. Maggie Grace does a great job too as his daughter Kim-which in all the movies, I think the bond they share gives these movies a more emphatic vibe; a man going high and low to ensure the safety of the people he cares most about. Famke Janssen returns as Lenore and does a good job, while Dougray Scott plays her ever so insecure husband Stuart. And Forest Whitaker does a Really nice job playing Inspector Franck Dotzler. He's not as easily fooled as the other cops in the movie are, and he and Bryan go back and forth with each other in terms of who's telling the truth and who isn't.

The action in the movie is similar to the action scenes in the others, but there are still a few more explosions and surprises to be had in the movie. The story progresses mostly as it should; BUT at a point in the movie I kept telling myself things are becoming a little too predictable which is not exciting for a movie of this caliber. Sometimes the lines an actor says just feels like it can be a bit too much/'unnecessary for the type movie this is. Then too, the primary villain just is uninteresting and does not look exactly threatening. Even so, Taken 3 or (Tak3n if you prefer) manages to still be a worthy successor to the 2nd movie even if it's not better than the first; due to the lead actors/actresses, the action sequences, and the different direction of the (not entirely satisfying) but still good story.

All this being said, while Taken 3(or Tak3n if you prefer) is nowhere near the quality of the 2008 film, my sincere hope is that you enjoy it because Taken 3 is

An Above Average Experience

Rated PG-13

Starring: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Forest Whitaker, Dougray Scott , Leland Orser, Sam Spruell,

Let me start off by saying I enjoyed Taken 3 much more than Taken 2. But it suffers from the same problem that all three of the movies have. While action movies are not really intended to be held up to close scrutiny and deep thought, this one stretches and snaps the limits of credibility. Brian Mills is a walking Dooms Day Machine. In this movie, he leaves a trail of wrecked cars, destroyed buildings, shot up bodies (living and dead), and angry cops (though he is very careful not to shoot any cops). As long as this was happening overseas, it was easier to rationalize. But happening in LA it doesn't work as well. Without revealing the resolution, at the end of the movie he and the detective shake hands and he goes his merry way. While he may not have committed the murder (no spoiler, it is in the ads) he still broke 1000 other laws in the process. The movie is great for into the eyes, pass through the brain entertainment, but don't retain any of the information or it all falls apart.

People will never give a good movie a chance if it's either a sequel or it comes off a not so good last movie. But seriously people!?!?! This was a great movie, still not better then the first Taken but still great. I assume you know what happens because we have all seen it in the trailer. People make jokes, What's getting taken this time? Well to answer, nobody physically is being taken. HIS LIFE is being Taken. That was the purpose of this movie. 1st Movie-Kim, 2nd-Lenny, 3rd-HIS LIFE. And that is something I really didn't think of when this movie was in the works and I was generally surprised. The acting in this movie is great and the detective was cool to watch. The only really negative I can say is the ending of this movie, I mean it was okay but I wish it was longer. But regardless, still a great movie and BUY IT!

Its' pretty entertaining however...at this point it does get a little ridiculous. (Spoiler Alert) First off, if you are holding a knife over a woman that has her throat slit with two cops pointing a gun at you and you don't immediately follow their command, you're dead. Second, he's an old man now and I don't care how many CIA training camps he has been to, he is not jumping out of a two story window and bouncing off his back on a dumpster only to outrun more cops on foot and jump over fences and on rooftops. Is just a little too far fetched...even for a movie.

They didn't remake the same film again, but used the same characters. I am not sure who was "taken" in this one. Now after the second film, I thought Bryan (Liam Neeson) and Lenore (Famke Janssen) were a sure thing to get back together, but apparently he didn't get so much as "thank you" nookie from it. What does a guy got to do? She is still with the guy we hate (Dougray Scott).

In this film Bryan is accused of murder and must go after the real killers while the LAPD led by Forest Whitaker are hot on his tail. Oh yea, the Russians are involved too, which are more formidable than Albanians in LA. I wasn't sure why Kim (Maggie Grace) would say "Dad is predictable," apparently she was in a coma for the first two features. Unfortunately the film is like a combination of Colombo and Scooby-Doo. There are not enough suspects developed to make it overly interesting, and the entertainment is watching all the collateral damage caused by Liam only to be later ignored by the LAPD. We have digressed to car chase scenes and car crashes for excitement.

This was not a great script. I think most fans of the series could have come up with something better. Admittedly I was bit disappointed, yet still entertained. It was like kissing your sister.

Guide: 1 f-bomb with Russian accent. No sex or nudity.