By Geno McGahee
In 2008, the action world took notice. Liam Neeson, a man that had flown under the radar, made his presence known in an incredible action film called “TAKEN.” Neeson played the role of former government secret service man, Bryan Mills, in rescue mission for his young daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). TAKEN felt like it belonged alongside films like DIRTY HARRY and DEATH WISH. It took the genre back in the right direction, away from the smooth and Hollywood approach that was used in films like CRANK and BAD BOYS. Neeson brought us back and got himself the A lister status that he deserved.
In 2012, TAKEN 2 was unleashed and it was an intense follow up to the original. Although not nearly as good, it wasn’t bad either. Neeson’s great performance and the gritty action sequences came off the screen with no apologies. These films are made for the real action fans and that is why I don’t rent a Neeson action movie anymore. I buy them immediately. I know that he is going to kick ass and take names.
In TAKEN 3, we see Neeson trying to adjust to life with his daughter a big part of it and his ex-wife beginning to come back in romantically. Lenore (Famke Janssen) went through hell being married to Bryan and found hell after they broke up in the first two films. She now wants to get back together, but she still has a husband to get rid of. Stuart (Dougray Scott) is rich and has some skeletons in his closet. He wants to keep Lenore and she wants to go. It makes for an awkward situation for Bryan Mills.
Remarkably, they recast the role of Stuart. Initially played by Xander Berkeley, Dougray Scott takes it over with passion. As capable as Berkeley was in the role, the changes in character needed a more appropriate actor and Scott was the right choice. He rides the fine line between good guy and bad guy in this and he does it well.
Bryan comes home and finds Lenore dead and now he’s the suspect in the murder. The film kicks into high gear and now it’s a chase. On the heels of Mills is Detective Dotzler, played incredibly well by Forest Whitaker. They picked the perfect guy to play across from Neeson in this. This was as good a matching as Harrison Ford with Tommy Lee Jones in THE FUGITIVE. You root for them both.
We get some Russian mobsters and some twists and turns, leading to a great climax and the bad guys taken down by the killing machine that is Bryan Mills. We get the mix of tough guy, sensitive guy and some slight humor with Neeson. I laughed pretty loudly when a cop said “This can only turn out badly for you,” as he stole a cop car, and Neeson said “don’t be so pessimistic.” It was really funny and there are moments of humor like that spread out.
TAKEN 3 is a big winner. Neeson delivers once again and there is room left for another. There were four DIRTY HARRY movies and that is the series that I compare this most to. The grizzled tough guy going against the rules to take out the bad guys that the cops can’t touch. On an interesting side note, Neeson was in THE DEAD POOL, the final entry of the DIRTY HARRY series. Unfortunately, they didn’t know what they had in Neeson and maybe he wasn’t ready to be a bad ass, but they had two of the best forces that the action genre ever saw together in one film. It’s not too late to make a DIRTY HARRY/TAKEN crossover film…
The Blu-Ray comes with the digital HD download and the theatrical and unrated versions of the film. We have deleted scenes and some other behind the scenes features that make this a must own for action fans and TAKEN fans.
Rating: 8/10
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