Movie Review: Taken 3

The original Taken was a no nonsense, kick the crap out of everyone who gets in your way type of action film, which had a refreshing premise, a great cast and some pretty solid writing behind it. The second installment was an irritating and unnecessary rehash of the original that's lazily directed and filmed, and while Taken 3 was slightly better than that, it was still a lackluster end to a once good start. Yes, some of the action set pieces were still brutal and stylish, but the polish of the production was lacking, Liam Neeson wasn't as great as he used to be, and there was just not enough tension to make the film even remotely compelling. Everything felt strangely stilted, quiet, and unsure. Plus, the camera work was too frenetic that it was almost dizzying. Taken was probably one of the most unnecessary film trilogies in recent memory and how I wish they stopped with the first one. There was no justification that existed in the original story to merit a sequel, and that made for an unsatisfying end of the whole thing. 5.5