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Taken 3 Review

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Uh oh, Taken’s back for another copy of the same plot. Who’s going to die/get kidnapped this time and why do they never let Bryan have a happy ending? In truth, the film was actually decently good the whole time except for…a scene with animal violence. Why did they feel the need to destroy the dog? That was sloppy writing and that’s putting it nicely. I expected much more from this film, ah well. Conceptually, having a Taken 3 makes sense for that “One Last Ride” kind of feel and the poster is actually very good. The execution just wasn’t ready for it.

Well, Bryan is having a good day as per usual until he heads home and finds out that his ex-wife has been murdered. He is framed for having done the deed and must prove his innocence while finding the real crooks. It’ll be tough though since they are after his daughter as well now and these guys don’t play by the rules. Furthermore, Bryan is being hunted by the FBI and CIA so that complicates things. Ah well, he’s a pro so he should be able to get the job done.

I don’t really talk about cinematography or camera work much because I don’t really care much about it. Unless it’s really bad camera work like objectionable zoom ins (Michael Bay films) or something then it’s all the same to me. Still, it’s worth mentioning how the camera constantly cuts away in this film. Action scenes use dozens of different camera angles and they all barely last over a moment. It’s like the director was panicking the whole time. It’s unintentionally funny, but I don’t think that’s what he was going for.

The film’s mostly not all that violent which is nice. I dare say that it’s probably the most tame of the 3. After all, this one is really focused on being a big action film as opposed to a dark, more serious kind of revenge tale. That being said, the waterboarding scene was a bit much. Bryan puts the guy under 3 different times in a scene that drags on way too much. The guy will sputter and gargle, talk a tough game, then rinse and repeat twice. I was expecting it to happen twice, but not a third time. That was definitely a twist, just not a good one.

This film wasn’t even all that dark. Again, it’s just a generic action thriller with some iffy plots. One of those plots was that his ex-wife is unsatisfied with her current marriage and wants to cheat on the side with Bryan. He is too honorable for that even if his reaction time is suspiciously slow for breaking it off when she attacks him. We didn’t really need this and it does seem like she’s floating back and forth a little too much. The characters all talk about how her current husband is pretty bad and he does turn out to be one of the big villains, but I don’t see what she saw in him the first time.

The husband is basically just one of those guys who owes a bunch of money to gangsters and is now caught in a position where he owes them a lot of money. Ah well, that’s why you don’t deal with gangsters. The film never tries to get you to sympathize with him and that’s good since I wouldn’t have bought the act. The actual villains are pretty soulless though and don’t get any personality. They’re literally just guys with guns and this isn’t personal for once. I guess there wasn’t as much of a focus on them for a change.

For once the cops actually didn’t look that bad. They still let their guard down a little too quickly at times and lost quite a few rounds, but they tried. While you probably won’t believe how easy Bryan knocks them out and escapes, he’s the main character. The primary detective for the cops ended up doing a good job though. At times the film tried too hard to make him the “tough but laidback” character as he’ll sit down and enjoy a few bagels. He’s clearly still thinking about the case, but tries to get everyone to let their guards down. It was nice to have at least one cop who was fully competent since he helped to elevate everyone else.

Bryan’s daughter got a mild role here as well, but her whole subplot was basically filler. It wasn’t the best time for having a kid or even distracting Bryan with that revelation since he is a wanted man. I can’t say that I care for her friend at all since he vanishes whenever the villains appear and seems to be a little too interested in wine. The daughter also just annoyed me with how ungrateful she was for the bear. I get that it’s not the present she would have wanted, but you should really appreciate any present that you get or at least put a brave face on in the moment. It’s important to take these things in stride.

I can at least say that the pacing is pretty quick. The film goes by in a flash considering the actual time and that’s because the plot is interesting and the characters are rather familiar by now. I do think that Bryan’s friends are given way too much hype at times as they can pull guns on federal agents and just walk away calmly. Does nobody care that these retired pros are interfering with the law? It feels like they can get away with anything so it’s good that they’re heroes at the moment.

Overall, Taken 3 is mostly decent. Take away the animal scene and the random waterboarding and it would grab 2 stars back. Still, there’s nothing original about the film and it does end up as a very generic action movie. It never managed to carve out an identity for itself which is unfortunate. I suppose this was just too much for the movie. If you enjoyed the first two films and don’t mind seeing another rehash then this is the film for you. Keep in mind that nobody is really taken for about 90%n of the film unless you take the title more literally this time around. The first film is really the only one where the plot focused on someone being taken for the majority of the movie.

Overall 4/10

Taken 2 Review

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TAKEN 2
You have to admit that the poster is a bit much. It looks very good of course so I have no problems there, but it just looks a little too good if you know what I mean. Let’s just say that the main character doesn’t go around blowing up the city as he stops the crooks..he has someone else do that for him this time. It’s a decent sequel, but it’s definitely a little too dreary to get a solid rating. There is no replay value to be found here folks.

After Bryan saved his daughter from a fate worse than death in the first film, he has continued on with his job of keeping the peace and protecting people. He doesn’t want to let the events of the first film get him down so he invites his wife and daughter to go with him on a vacation. Naturally, they check into a pretty charming hotel like last time and leave the daughter along like last time as he heads out to have fun. A car appears to be chasing him and then he realizes that his daughter could be in trouble once again. The gangsters are mainly after Bryan since they want their revenge, but they’re going to take it out on anyone who is with him. It’s time for Bryan to take his gun back out since things just got serious!

Well, the film plays out as you may expect. There isn’t a lot of things happening here to be honest because the film is under 2 hours and we need the first 20 or so minutes for character development. See, the daughter wants to live a “normal” (AKA, a Hollywood) life so she decides to find some random guy and make the next step. That subplot is pretty bad and we’re lucky that it’s only here for a scene near the beginning and one at the end. That being said, it’s still a pretty terrible subplot and it’s a good way to start the film off on a low note.

It makes Kim a pretty unlikable character here from the start. Considering how hard Bryan worked to save her last time, you’d think that she would be a lot more grateful. Moving on is always a good thing to do, but you still need to be a little more rational about the whole ordeal. A vacation to a country that isn’t Sweden or France is definitely something that I wouldn’t go for. She gets to help out a lot in the climax and it’s good that she’s able to step up when she needs too, but that’s just not good enough for her to be a well rounded fighter.

Bryan looks pretty good as he continues to show why he is always prepared. He has a lot of weapons around him, but more importantly, he knows how to get out of a trap. His mini phone definitely came in handy quite a few times and he’s still a really good fighter. He doesn’t really have any flaws. You can actually say that he’s a bit like Kirito in the fact that you are meant to put yourself in his shoes. He’s basically the ultimate team guy. You like to think that this is how you would solve the problem if someone took your family hostage and he always delivers. In that sense you can argue that he is “too good” but I never really bought that argument. Whether he is meant to be the viewers or not, I’m glad that he is a pretty capable lead.

It’s hard to say whether Lenore looks good or bad since she is taken out of the picture pretty quickly. One of her flaws is definitely who she choose to be with instead of Bryan since we see that it was a bad choice. The game of romance is always risky and it’s why I never recommend participating in it. That being said, she seems like a reasonable person for the most part and she holds up pretty well when she’s captured. There’s nothing really negative about her so that’s a good thing.

There’s not much to say about the villains since they’re just meant to be unlikable. None of them really have any character to speak of. They want vengeance for the other ruthless gangsters who died so they just use that as an excuse to destroy more people. They’re all pretty sick individuals and you’re just waiting for them to get arrested as you watch the film. Unfortunately, the cops look pretty bad once again as they fail to take down even one gangster before they are mowed down. Not very flattering for them.

This film is definitely more violent than what you would see in your typical PG 13 film and mixed in with the dark tone, you have a film that you probably won’t want to watch again. The replay value just isn’t there and it’s not really a fun film to watch. The film is pretty realistic for the most part, but that just makes you want to avoid it even more since you know that these things are happening in real life, but without happy endings. It’s definitely not my kind of film or it’s just “taken” it a little too far. Regardless, one viewing is definitely all that you need.

There is one scene that definitely does stretch your disbelief a little bit as Bryan gives Kim a lot of tasks to do over the phone and she’s able to do them pretty easily. Drawing a circle with her equipment may not be that difficult, but it’s still not something that you can typically do without any experience. She was able to locate things on her map with ease and the whole thing was pretty unbelievable. Bryan was also a little too good there as he memorized exactly how many twists and turns the van did as they went on a pretty long journey. He was also counting the seconds of course so he knew just how far they had driven. I don’t care how much of a genius you are, that’s just not happening. Getting into the Embassy was also a little dicey since the heroes probably would have been shot as soon as they barreled past. The U.S. Embassy means business after all and they wouldn’t let a few trigger happy individuals in a speeding car get past them.

Naturally, the film decides to put some emphasis on the final murder for Bryan. He gives the villain a classic choice, walk away or he will destroy him. The villain makes a move and then Bryan does as well, but now we’re dealing with a defenseless villain vs Bryan, which makes the whole ordeal a little more dicey. Arresting him is always the just move, but Bryan is here to avenge his family so he doesn’t really care about all of that. The villain wasn’t smart there either since he should have expected the gun to be empty. I guess we’ll find out if his threat will come true or not about his other allies and their quest for vengeance.

Overall, Taken 2 is not a good action thriller. I recommend Mission Impossible as an alternative course of action and specifically the first one since it was pretty great. This film is just too dreary to really recommend watching. Seeing Bryan (AKA the viewer) beat up all of the bad guys in pretty intense ways as he saves the day can probably feel pretty rewarding for some, but it can also just make you think of how believable the whole thing is. There isn’t a lot of hope throughout the film and even the ending has some dark twists since we are led to believe that more villains will pop up. Since there is a Taken 3, it seems that this will probably happen. The film did a good job of avoiding language and unnecessary (fake) romance scenes, but it’s still just not a very good movie. I recommend it if you are looking for a fairly realistic story where you get to see the gangsters beaten up, but otherwise this is a film to skip.

Overall 4/10