Taken 3
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: January 9, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
26
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
11
Negative:
18
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
67
Entertainment WeeklyKyle AndersonJan 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
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonJan 5, 2015
Taken 3 scores over its predecessor on almost every level: the stakes are higher, the LA locations are nicely photographed and, best of all, there’s an actual plot, with twists and everything. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonJan 13, 2015
Taken 3 isn't brilliant, but it's a hell of a lot of dumb, head-smacking fun. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJan 9, 2015
The film dutifully cleaves to the contours of a well-established and viscerally satisfying formula. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 9, 2015
This is a pretty good action movie with the added kick of Liam Neeson in the lead role. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 9, 2015
Taken 3 is exactly what one might anticipate from an unnecessary sequel in a mediocre franchise. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyJan 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
42
HitfixDrew McWeenyJan 9, 2015
Taken 3 is formula filmmaking at its most formulaic, a film that exists only because it makes sense financially. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleWilliam GossJan 31, 2015
There isn’t even a moment amid the running and gunning as insipidly inspired as the last film’s idea of using grenade-tossing triangulation to save the day. Read full review
40
Total FilmNeil SmithJan 8, 2015
Liam Neeson cuts a rather sorry figure in what’s less a final flourish for the series than a prolonged death rattle. Read full review
40
EmpireAli PlumbJan 7, 2015
Megaton’s choppy editing barely disguises his star’s hatred of running, while a brutal 12A neutering lessens what limited fun remains in seeing Oscar Schindler creakily throw a Russian bad ‘un into some supermarket shelves. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterClarence TsuiDec 31, 2014
Replacing the first two films' simplistic, man-on-the-run premise with a stuttering plot comparatively light on action and stuffed with red herrings and inconsequential characters... Besson's team has signed off the trilogy with a whimper rather than the kind of unfettered bang delivered by the first two films. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia PuigJan 9, 2015
While this third installment offers a jot more humor (mostly unintentional), the action scenes are disjointed, badly staged and mind-numbing. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 9, 2015
​I’ll tell you what got Taken. A hundred and twelve minutes of my life got Taken. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJan 9, 2015
It's just a frantic, flash-cutting frenzy. Even the slower, more intimate family scenes feature so many swooping-up-from-below shots and so many sudden inserts that moments (emotional or physical) are never given a chance to land. Read full review
30
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaJan 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
30
The DissolveKeith PhippsJan 9, 2015
Even Neeson can’t rescue this halfhearted shrug of a movie. Read full review
30
VarietyMaggie LeeDec 31, 2014
A mind-numbing, crash-bang misfire that abandons chic European capitals for the character’s own backyard. Read full review
25
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthJan 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
25
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 13, 2015
Mills is so clever, he has the cops utterly outfoxed. But he can’t guess where this story is leading as early as the audience does — which is almost instantly. Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandJan 10, 2015
Nothing gets taken here except your ticket money. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJan 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
20
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldJan 9, 2015
Mr. Megaton’s direction of action sequences borders on atrocious. Ragged camerawork and editing ruin freeway car chases and hand-to-hand combat alike. Read full review
20
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 9, 2015
Taken 3 is bad enough that it may just end it. Read full review
20
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 6, 2015
It’s difficult to know what subtitle to give this. Taken 3: Not Again, or Taken 3: Seriously? or Taken 3: This Is Getting a Bit Much Frankly. Read full review
20
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJan 6, 2015
Each individual moment in the film barely seems to be on speaking terms with the rest. Read full review
16
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeJan 13, 2015
Audiences the world over made Neeson an action star when they fell in love with his “particular set of skills” in the first “Taken,” but this third go-round finds both cast and crew opting not to exercise any of them. Everyone involved seems to be determined to quash anyone’s interest in a fourth chapter. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianJan 9, 2015
Empowerment porn for those who long for the Cold War's clarity of purpose and American dominance in this murky age of terror. Read full review
0
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJan 9, 2015
Even Liam Neeson seems bored by the imbecilic, repetitive “Taken 3,” an action movie no one was clamoring for and no one will enjoy. Read full review
0
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 9, 2015
Be warned, sequel fanboys: This thing sucks! Read full review
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