Taken 3 (Movie Review)
01.10.2015 | By Jack Rico |
The “1-4-0″: #Taken3 is already up for worst movie of 2015. Between stilted dialogue, a laughable villain & embarrassing performances, this is more comedy than thriller. Read More
01.10.2015 | By Jack Rico |
The “1-4-0″: #Taken3 is already up for worst movie of 2015. Between stilted dialogue, a laughable villain & embarrassing performances, this is more comedy than thriller. Read More
10.4.2012 | By Karen Posada |
Some movies are able to better their material with a sequel, but most of the time they are unnecessary and are just a result of the studio’s greed; as is the case with ‘Taken 2’. I won’t deny that I was curious to see how this movie would turn out; I enjoyed the first one despite some of its obvious flaws, but in that one the action was on point and that helped carry it along and keep the audience entertained with an interesting storyline. This second part has an empty script, too much repetitiveness and too many flaws to consider it an upgrade from the previous one. In my opinion they should have just left the project alone instead of trying to make a couple of extra bucks with a second one.
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In this part of the story retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is finishing up a job in Istanbul, where his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) come to join him. They don’t get to enjoy much of their time away from home when a gang of Albanians led by Murad (Rade Serbedzija) comes after them to avenge the deaths of all the men Mill killed when his daughter was kidnapped in Paris.
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In our interview Neeson told me that being 60 he wanted to portray a man who is getting too old for all this havoc and it shows as some of the fight sequences seemed too programed and even when he’s running he barely seems like a threat. Although Grace has shown potential as an action star in ‘Lock-out’, here she reverts to the weak girl from the previous film; where although she’s able to do more to help the situation she still is completely lost in this world her father knows so well. There’s not much to say about Janssen’s character or her acting, as it is disappointing all around.
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The biggest problem with this film is the storyline; it feels empty because it tries to base itself on the previous film and there’s just not enough material to do that. I did enjoy the humor this one had which lacked on the first one, even though at points it’s almost mocking itself as well as the first one. Although we finally see a break where the retired CIA agent is human and is exhausted, he’s still treated too much like a hero and the scenarios are no longer believable. The action becomes too repetitive to the point where it gets dull and you know there’s nothing more that the movie will provide to wake you up.
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 My biggest advice to the Mills family is…stay on American soil! There’s actually a hint to perhaps a third part to the franchise and I beg the studio to please leave it alone. We go to the movies to visit worlds where unbelievable things happen and even though a lot of the things here are farfetched it’s no longer new, innovative, or captivating. This has a different director from the first one; French director Olivier Megaton who recently did ‘Colombiana’ says he doesn’t consider himself an action director and took on this project despite of agreeing that there was no need for a sequel. He tried to make a movie that would stand on its own, but he certainly didn’t achieve it. For me it’s hard too see talent like the one the cast has specially Neeson be wasted in projects like this one. You would do yourself a favor by watching ‘Looper’ a second time before going to spend 91 minutes on this one.  Â
05.13.2009 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.
Release Date: 2009-01-30
Starring: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:France
Official Website: http://www.takenmovie.com/
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For years now, french filmmaker Luc Besson (The Transporter) has been hemorrhaging preposterous action films that are wildly unsophisticated in their storytelling but that are also inexplicably entertaining. Taken is no exception.Â
Yet the Besson-written screenplay is directed by another frenchmen, Pierre Morel, who at least for this film, happens to share his exact same sensibility: A reckless disregard for character development because the order of the day is a ‘shoot-em up thriller’.
Unsurprisingly then, the film’s premise is pretty straightforward. It centers on a former government operative named Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who is on the hunt for a fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), with whom he has just started to rekindle a relationship with. After being absent for most of her life, Mills will terrorize all of Paris hunting down the band of kidnappers to prove his fatherhood.
Despite its slow beginning, hokey dialogue, and poor acting on everyone’s account (Maggie Grace being especially unbearable), the film doesn’t ever pretend to be more than it really is. It’s just strange to see Neeson, such an accomplished actor, playing the type of role usually reserved for people like Jason Statham.Â
I know what I’m getting into when when I watch these films and so I’m rarely disappointed. And If you have the slightest appetite for the genre, then it should be an easy 90 minutes of film to watch.
Taken is the type of film that easily gets filed under the ‘really bad films I’d watch category’.
03.10.2009 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material.
Release Date: 2008-11-26
Starring: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:France
Official Website: http://www.letransporteur3-lefilm.com/
Let’s be frank (no pun intended). This review really isn’t needed.Â
The latest installment of the ‘Transporter’ series is everything you expect it to be: one ridiculous action sequence after another with a senseless romantic plot sandwiched in between. But who says that’s a bad thing?
Frank Martin (Jason Statham), a former Special Forces officer and now a highly skilled courier for the underworld world, has been pressured into ‘transporting’ Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), the kidnapped daughter of Leonid Vasilev, a top Ukrainian politician, all across Europe. But things get pretty ugly for him when he has to contend with the people who strong armed him to take the job, the special agents sent by Vasilev to intercept him, and his unruly passenger. If you haven’t seen the first two films, you’ll quickly pick up on its simple premise.Â
Oh yes, one other matter of hilarious complication. On this particular run, Frank is forced to wear a high tech bracelet which is programed to explode if he gets too far from his Audi S8. And so he speed races through Europe stopping only to battle dozens of henchmen that are on his tail using his masterful kung fu skills – all within 50 feet of his car, of course.
If nothing else, Transporter 3 is hysterical. The implausibility of all the stunts should be enough to keep you entertained for a couple of hours. And the fact that it takes itself so seriously makes it even funnier. If you’ve seen ‘Crank’ (my personal favorite Statham film), I’m sure you know exactly what I mean.Â
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It is what it is. A kung fu movie with fast cars and a British accent.
Now we all know the effects a big turkey dinner can have. So if you’re looking for a film to watch on Thursday night, perhaps ‘Transporter 3’ is a better choice than the 3 hour epic which also opens this weekend.
01.29.2009 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.
Release Date: 2009-01-30
Starring: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: France
Official Website: http://www.takenmovie.com/
Go to our film page
For years now, french filmmaker Luc Besson (The Transporter) has been hemorrhaging preposterous action films that are wildly unsophisticated in their storytelling but that are also inexplicably entertaining. Taken is no exception.Â
Yet the Besson-written screenplay is directed by another frenchmen, Pierre Morel, who at least for this film, happens to share his exact same sensibility: A reckless disregard for character development because the order of the day is a ‘shoot-em up thriller’.
Unsurprisingly then, the film’s premise is pretty straightforward. It centers on a former government operative named Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who is on the hunt for a fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), with whom he has just started to rekindle a relationship with. After being absent for most of her life, Mills will terrorize all of Paris hunting down the band of kidnappers to prove his fatherhood.
Despite its slow beginning, hokey dialogue, and poor acting on everyone’s account (Maggie Grace being especially unbearable), the film doesn’t ever pretend to be more than it really is. It’s just strange to see Neeson, such an accomplished actor, playing the type of role usually reserved for people like Jason Statham.Â
I know what I’m getting into when when I watch these films and so I’m rarely disappointed. And If you have the slightest appetite for the genre, then it should be an easy 90 minutes of film to watch.
Taken is the type of film that easily gets filed under the ‘really bad films I’d watch category’.
11.25.2008 | By Alex Florez |
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, some sexual content and drug material.
Release Date: 2008-11-26
Starring: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country: France
Official Website: http://www.letransporteur3-lefilm.com/
Go to our film page
Let’s be frank (no pun intended). This review really isn’t needed.Â
The latest installment of the ‘Transporter’ series is everything you expect it to be: one ridiculous action sequence after another with a senseless romantic plot sandwiched in between. But who says that’s a bad thing?
Frank Martin (Jason Statham), a former Special Forces officer and now a highly skilled courier for the underworld world, has been pressured into ‘transporting’ Valentina (Natalya Rudakova), the kidnapped daughter of Leonid Vasilev, a top Ukrainian politician, all across Europe. But things get pretty ugly for him when he has to contend with the people who strong armed him to take the job, the special agents sent by Vasilev to intercept him, and his unruly passenger. If you haven’t seen the first two films, you’ll quickly pick up on its simple premise.Â
Oh yes, one other matter of hilarious complication. On this particular run, Frank is forced to wear a high tech bracelet which is programed to explode if he gets too far from his Audi S8. And so he speed races through Europe stopping only to battle dozens of henchmen that are on his tail using his masterful kung fu skills – all within 50 feet of his car, of course.
If nothing else, Transporter 3 is hysterical. The implausibility of all the stunts should be enough to keep you entertained for a couple of hours. And the fact that it takes itself so seriously makes it even funnier. If you’ve seen ‘Crank’ (my personal favorite Statham film), I’m sure you know exactly what I mean.Â
Â
It is what it is. A kung fu movie with fast cars and a British accent.
Now we all know the effects a big turkey dinner can have. So if you’re looking for a film to watch on Thursday night, perhaps ‘Transporter 3’ is a better choice than the 3 hour epic which also opens this weekend.
Â
 Go to our film page
