Taken 3

Name: Taken 3
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Released: January 9, 2015
Duration: 109 min
Rating: 26
Cast: Famke Janssen, Forest Whitaker, Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace

2015

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 30 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 305 Ratings

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4.6

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4.6	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 305 Ratings

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Taken 3

Movie Details & Credits

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: January 9, 2015

Starring: Famke Janssen, Forest Whitaker, Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace

Summary: Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set ofLiam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his “particular set of skills,” to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter. [20th Century Fox]… Expand

Director: Olivier Megaton

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 109 min

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Awards & Rankings

49	#49 Most Discussed Movie of 2015
96	#96 Most Shared Movie of 2015

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Critic Reviews

Entertainment Weekly - Kyle Anderson

Jan 9, 2015

It's a testament to Neeson's startling charisma as an action star that for all its storytelling flaws, large swaths of Taken 3 remain wildly entertaining. Read full review

Washington Post - Michael O'Sullivan

Jan 9, 2015

The film dutifully cleaves to the contours of a well-established and viscerally satisfying formula. Read full review

The A.V. Club - Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

Jan 9, 2015

So what, exactly, is wrong with Taken 3? A lot of things, most of which can be attributed to the fact that director Olivier Megaton—who also helmed Taken 2—couldn’t mount an action scene if his life depended on it. Read full review

Arizona Republic - Randy Cordova

Jan 9, 2015

Olivier Megaton (he helmed "Taken 2") starts things off at a sluggish pace and never picks up speed. Even the action scenes, which often are filmed in jittery fashion, don't generate thrills. Read full review

The Playlist - Kevin Jagernauth

Jan 15, 2015

Sadly, the sequel isn't even so bad as to be memorable. Instead, it's vaporous, not even possessing the qualities indicating that anyone involved cared about any detail of the film. Read full review

Los Angeles Times - Betsy Sharkey

Jan 9, 2015

This time around the dramatics and dialogue are so laugh-out-loud funny that if there is a "4" — despite the promises that "3" is the final chapter — maybe it should be a straight-out satire. Read full review

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers

Jan 9, 2015

Be warned, sequel fanboys: This thing sucks! Read full review

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User Reviews

baldwincollins

Jan 22, 2015

most spy film-fan's like myself had predicted that this year 2015.
is the year of the spy. liam neeson's character brian mills had really shined in this film
the action was up-close and spot on. the storyline starting with mills losing his ex-wife never went down well with me. reasonmost spy film-fan's like myself had predicted that this year 2015.
is the year of the spy. liam neeson's character brian mills had really shined in this film
the action was up-close and spot on.
the storyline starting with mills losing his ex-wife never went down well with me. reason being the last
taken installment film, actually gave the viewing audience the impression that ex-wife and brian are
reunited as a family,
only now we find out in taken 3 that her present husband stewart want's her back.
however she being murdered in this film. which also means actress famke jenssen is out of the
popular growing franchise, if theres to be another taken film, how does the next story evolves around
the brian mills family? anyway I liked this installment, it's going to be very interesting to see which other
spy related thriller is going to rule the box-office this year. my guess is 'spectre'… Expand

4 of 13 users found this helpful49

ccool262

Feb 7, 2015

Although many people say that this movie was terrible, just like the second one, personally, I really enjoyed this movie. A common theme with the Taken movies is the action-packed, thrilling scenes. I liked Taken 1 a lot more than Taken 2, but Taken 3 put me at the edge of the seat theAlthough many people say that this movie was terrible, just like the second one, personally, I really enjoyed this movie. A common theme with the Taken movies is the action-packed, thrilling scenes. I liked Taken 1 a lot more than Taken 2, but Taken 3 put me at the edge of the seat the entire time! The movie wasn't perfect though. Some things about the movie could have been changed and made better, but overall the movie kept me interested throughout the whole thing with suspense and new plot twists.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TheQuietGamer

Jun 2, 2015

Another unnecessary Taken sequel. In an effort to keep things fresh changes were made to the formula. As a result though a lot of what made the first Taken such an enjoyable hit is missing here. The action is more based on big spectacle as opposed to the more believability of the first film.Another unnecessary Taken sequel. In an effort to keep things fresh changes were made to the formula. As a result though a lot of what made the first Taken such an enjoyable hit is missing here. The action is more based on big spectacle as opposed to the more believability of the first film. The excellent hand-to-hand fights that were so enjoyable are barely here at all. Instead the majority of the action is composed of a lot of chase scenes (particularly car chases) and shootouts. Explosions are thrown in for good measure. Add in a plot that tries way too hard to be complex and you have a movie that fails to live up to it's predecessors.

However I would be lying if I said that this third movie isn't still an enjoyable action-thriller. Most of that is due to Neeson. He's still an enjoyable action hero, even if this is the first movie where it looks like his age is getting to him. He doesn't get up quite as fast anymore and takes more hits than we are used to seeing. He's still the guy you don't want to mess with though, and he still sounds great when he's saying intimidating stuff.

For a while the movie lacks progress in moving it's story forward. It tries to set up some sort of mystery. However it seems the writer(s) knew they didn't really have one here so they decided to keep audiences in the dark for as long as possible by having Neeson just run from cops for a significant portion of the movie rather than going after the bad guys. Neeson's character never even really pieces things together. The whole big picture just sort of falls in his lap and he goes on taking down the bad guys while trying to keep his daughter safe. Not exactly satisfying writing, but it gives us an excuse to watch Neeson go.

It's nice to see Neeson's old allies get in on some of the action this time. This isn't the Expendables though so don't expect them to go in guns blazing with him, but they play an actual role in helping him as opposed to just being there like in the previous films. However the real ingenuity still comes from Neeson. It's a blast to watch him stay one step ahead of his pursuers the entire time. The actual action isn't anything special, but still manages to entertain.

All in all this third sequel is a case of good, not great. Well, maybe more like decent. It can be a perfectly entertaining ride for those who come in not expecting too much and wanting to see more Neeson. This biggest issue is basically that this doesn't feel like a "Taken" movie at all. The characters are here, but the magic of that first film isn't. Instead what we get is a solid, but not terribly remarkable action-thriller. One that would make for a pretty nice rental, but won't standout among the other action movies you've seen. It's not one I regret watching and I did enjoy it, but I would've appreciated a whole lot more. Thankfully Neeson keeps things going.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

manofthemoon

Jan 24, 2015

Lazy in every department as the studio stitches together every cliche and set piece from every other action film since the 80s. Taken 3 should be retitled The Fugitive 2, seeing as it steals the plot so often. Even Neeson looks tired of it all. An average action film for anybody who doesn'tLazy in every department as the studio stitches together every cliche and set piece from every other action film since the 80s. Taken 3 should be retitled The Fugitive 2, seeing as it steals the plot so often. Even Neeson looks tired of it all. An average action film for anybody who doesn't want to make any effort.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

diogomendes

Jan 24, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Redundancy is strong in "Taken 3", an unneeded sequel of the unneeded sequel that while contains a few moments performed by Liam Neeson and Forest Whitaker worth watching, its plot is banal and the action sequences are too frenetically edited to provoke excitement. Some people say that it's better than the second film. Well, that's no large feat. The previous movie sucked, and this one is not an exception.

Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose long awaited reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his "particular set of skills," to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter.

Now, the movie opens with some armed guys who work for this veteran operative named Oleg Malankov, basically a generic antagonist whose plan is absurd. After Lenore's husband kills her, Bryan Mills does what he is best at: Goes after them, while also escaping from the cops. The action, just like in the second movie, sucks. Shaky cameras, quick zoom-in and cuts... it's bad and hurt my eyes just by seeing them. Olivier Megaton clearly doesn't understand what made the original Taken a hit. As for the actors, they're fine. Can't say they did "an extraordinary" job, but they were okay. Liam Neeson's presence prevents myself from giving a much lower score than this and I like Forest's performance. In fact, I love him as an actor.

One thing I don't understand is that the police thinks Bryan murdered his ex-wife Lenore, but they don't know he risked his whole life to save her in the previous film (not to mention, he f*cking killed hundreds of people and travelled far to save his daughter in the first film). And suddenly, Stuart is part of some illegal business with a dangerous veteran... whatever.

"Taken 3" reminds me of "The Next Karate Kid" and "A Good Day to Die Hard", it shouldn't have been made. It shouldn't have been a franchise. It's an obvious cash grab that offers little to the movies aficionado. If you're going to make a movie that serves only to generate cash, at least do it right. Stop wasting audience's time, for God's sake.

Final Score to Tak3n (God the title is so dumb): 3/10. It was a little enjoyable, but it's diminished by its moronic script, terrible direction and bad action scenes, even if Liam Neeson and the rest of the cast gave everything to make this movie right.

(Hey, at least the movie wasn't Transformers: Age of Extinction).… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

ErikTheCritic

Oct 11, 2018

Is it necessary to use six different camera shots for a two second scene of Liam Neeson jumping over a gate? The film is so choppily edited, and it really boggles me that this garbage was released theatrically.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

FranzHcritic

Aug 3, 2015

The first film had used up all its puff and zang, and there was little there to begin with. This is more convoluted, more incomprehensible. The action scenes are, in all honesty, boring and lacking any suspense the first film managed to (barely) generate. I'm thankful that this will be theThe first film had used up all its puff and zang, and there was little there to begin with. This is more convoluted, more incomprehensible. The action scenes are, in all honesty, boring and lacking any suspense the first film managed to (barely) generate. I'm thankful that this will be the last of the 'Taken' films.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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