There’s a scene in Taken 3 where a tired Liam Neeson jumps into a sewage pipe, which I think is a pretty good metaphor for the film itself.
Taken 3 is everything the first film wasn’t; it’s boring when it should be exciting, it’s tame when it should be violent, it’s stupid when it should be…well the first one was stupid too so I guess it got something right. Yet the first Taken was the right kind of stupid, the ideal popcorn film to mindlessly enjoy; there was energy, intensity, violence, ridiculously wonderful one-liners, and a plot so absurd it had to work! There’s a reason Taken rose Liam Neeson to action star fame; he fit so perfectly within the film’s structure, taking it to a new level of fun and entertainment. In Taken 3 there’s barely a skeleton left of Neeson's former glory.
Taken 3 is everything the first film wasn’t; it’s boring when it should be exciting, it’s tame when it should be violent, it’s stupid when it should be…well the first one was stupid too so I guess it got something right. Yet the first Taken was the right kind of stupid, the ideal popcorn film to mindlessly enjoy; there was energy, intensity, violence, ridiculously wonderful one-liners, and a plot so absurd it had to work! There’s a reason Taken rose Liam Neeson to action star fame; he fit so perfectly within the film’s structure, taking it to a new level of fun and entertainment. In Taken 3 there’s barely a skeleton left of Neeson's former glory.
Now I'm not saying Neeson's washed-up for the action scene, as he's proven an effective aging alcoholic badass in both Non-Stop and A Walk Among the Tombstones; Neeson simply hasn't the energy nor youth left for such a fast paced series like Taken. His lack of energy and spirit drains the fun out of everything Taken 3 offers, though the film’s failure is not solely his blame. The editing in Taken 3 is absolutely atrocious, some of the worst I’ve seen in a while; I tried to find a shot longer than five seconds during a car chase and barely found any longer than two. I tried again during an intense, yet motionless discussion scene, and there still wasn't a single shot held over five seconds. There’s also the film’s idiotic PG-13 rating, forcing cutaways from savage beatings while minimizing blood loss to nothing more than minor stains and cuts. Yet despite all of Taken 3’s issues, is it really the one to blame here? After all, should I have not seen this coming considering Taken 3’s director made the equally disappointing Taken 2? It’s how that old saying goes (at least I think it’s old): fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
