Taken 3

Hey folks, Happy New Year! A brand new year and brand new movie slate. Make your resolutions to up your cinematic intake. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. This weekend, I have two films for you that you might find yourself interested to see. One of, which, is Taken 3, starring Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace.

I have to say, I had a good time with this one. Now, of course, I’m only saying this because I’ve been on the Taken franchise since the first film. Luc Besson has always been a great creator in my book. Well, he’s had some misses as of late, but his stories have always been loads of fun and action packed. What I like about the Taken series is that in holds a little bit of Besson’s other films in its design. In Taken there’s a little bit of Leon: The Professional, a little bit of 3 days to Kill, and some elements from The Transporter. A Besson sampler, if you will.

Liam Neeson, as always, brings his best showing that he can still role with the punches as an action star. The introduction of Forest Whitaker in the mix as the FBI agent charged to find Neeson’s character provides an interesting and complicated relationship for the film’s development. It’s not a direct good vs. evil film, because the enemy is hidden for the most part. Maggie Grace has not always been a joy in this franchise. Her character tends to go over the top for things, and her development in Taken 2 was a bit jarring (how anyone gains skills like that without training left me for a bit of a loop). It does appear, however, that Maggie Grace was just a tad bit more subdued in this film, which made her a little more tolerable.

Overall, for fans of the series, you’ll definitely want to check this one out. Perhaps a matinée would work in your wallets favor. People not too familiar, but are interested in finding out what’s going on in this movie, you’d best wait for the DVD release of this one.