Taken 3 (2015)

Title: Taken 3

Series: Taken

Director: Olivier Megaton

Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, and Maggie Grace

Released: 2015

Personal Rating: 4.5/6

Oscars: N/A

Plot: Ex-government operative Bryan Mills is accused of a ruthless murder he never committed or witnessed. As he is tracked and pursued, Mills brings out his particular set of skills to find the true killer and clear his name.
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Much Better Than Taken 2
The first movie in the series is just plain awesome with a good emotional connection, the second movie had many problems including ending too soon, and the third movie is a big step up. This movie felt like it was taking the time it needed to tell its story. It also had a good emotional connection with Bryan loving both his wife and daughter. Finally, it had some nice twists and turns which was highly refreshing after seeing Taken 2.

The Pregnant Sub-Plot
This is really the one glaring flaw of the movie. This sub-plot just seems way out of place with the tone of rest of the movie and when it was addressed in the movie I just was taken out of the film. It does work to have Bryan even more concerned as well as have a daughter having to think about her unborn child as shit hits the fan. But it doesn't work well in the movie overall.

Happy And Sad About Villain Choice
From the ending of the second movie I was expecting the villains to be those hinted at the end of that movie (and also hoping that Bryan's daughter's boyfriend was actually evil). However, I didn't get those villains and instead was given others that seemed to come out of nowhere. With reading into the movie it does appear they were hinted in the first movie so they didn't come totally out of nowhere. So I have mixed feelings about the choice of villains this time around and it might take me a few months to make a final decision.

Final Thoughts
This was a very good night at the movies and is also the only Taken movie I've seen in theaters. It did provide good thrills as well as emotional connections. There is talk of a fourth Taken movie but I'd rather it stopped here. The series never needed to happen as the first movie seemed good enough on its on. While the third installment is a huge improvement over Taken 2, there is no saying that a fourth movie is needed or that it won't suck.