Taken 3 - film review: 'Laconic Liam Neeson knows how to keep a straight face'

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills for the third film in the Taken franchise, featuring tension-free action sequences and a narrative thread involving warm bagels
Third time out: Liam Neeson in Taken 3
Charlotte O'Sullivan12 January 2015

The first Taken movie (a commercial hit, mocked by critics at the time) revolved around a trendy teenage girl, desperate to be part of "U2's European tour". Mutual embarrassment, perhaps, explains why the Irish rockers haven't been mentioned since.

The franchise formula involves a), Liam Neeson's ex-CIA dude, Bryan Mills, taking a stern line with foreign scum-of-the-earth and b), one or more people being kidnapped. Neeson, however, swore he’d only make a third sequel if "no one got taken". You wonder, too, if he asked for the casual racism to be toned down.

Either way, a tweaking has occurred. The new baddie is, well, closer to home and a more accurate title for the project would be Taken (But Only for a Few Minutes).

The plot, in case you give a toss, sees Mills being framed for murder and absorbing the news that his beloved daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), is pregnant. Bryan kicks butts, gets chased around LA and generally mesmerises the smart cop (Forest Whitaker) on his case. Grand-daddy knows best.

The action sequences are not only visually confusing, but tension free. A narrative thread involving warm bagels gets off to a bad start and becomes immeasurably worse. Then again, laconic Neeson knows how to keep a straight face, and audiences in the mood for a laugh might not feel they've been had.

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