In 2009, Liam Neeson’s career was rekindled thanks to the success of Taken, an action film released nearly a year earlier in France. Neeson portrayed Bryan Mills, a former CIA agent whose “particular set of skills” came in handy when his 17-year-old daughter was kidnapped by human traffickers in Europe. Taken was such a massive hit that it transformed Neeson into an action star, leading to Taken 2 in 2012. And in 2015, Taken 3 closed out the trilogy and brought the saga to an end.
The problem is that there was no saga, and the story of Taken was already over after the first film. Taken 2 contrived a reason to revisit Bryan and his family because they were targeted in revenge for his actions in the original movie. Conversely, Taken 3 had no unfinished business for Bryan to complete. It existed simply to cash in on the two movies before it, and Neeson pocketed $20 million to reprise his role for a third time. And can you blame him? If anyone deserved a big check for these films, it was Neeson.
Taken 3 made its American debut ten years ago this month, and it’s admittedly not the classic that the first film was. Olivier Megaton helmed the second and third Taken films after the original director, Pierre Morel, did not return for the sequels. Although few would argue that Taken 2 or 3 are as good as the first movie, they’re not without their charms. In fact, Taken 3 will soon be available on Hulu starting on February 1, so it may be due for a resurgence. In the meantime, for the 10th anniversary of Taken 3, we’re taking one last look back at whether the film has held up over the last decade.
Everybody loves Bryan
The big reason why there are two Taken sequels and a seemingly endless parade of Liam Neeson action movies is that viewers genuinely liked his character, Bryan Mills. In the first film, Bryan was largely estranged from his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), and their daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). But he gets the chance to salvage his relationship with both of them by singlehandedly rescuing Kim from a fate worse than death. Taken even has a feel-good ending for Bryan. He doesn’t get his wife back, but he strengthens his bond with Kim.
Taken 3 offers a brief glimpse of Bryan’s ordinary life coming together as he and Lenore flirt with rekindling their relationship as her second marriage falls apart. He’s a character with a lot of goodwill from the audience, and that’s why there was so much willingness to follow his story one last time. Even the obvious edits to hide Neeson’s physical limitations didn’t hurt that affection. However, the action is noticeably lacking compared to the first film. This sequel wouldn’t work at all if not for Neeson’s presence and charisma.
Death by plot twist
Hopefully, Janssen was also well-paid for her third time as Lenore, since her character is written out early in the film. Just when Lenore and Bryan seem to be falling in love again, she winds up murdered with her body dumped in Bryan’s apartment to frame him. Janssen deserved a better sendoff than that, but there wouldn’t be much of a story without her character’s death. If Bryan’s freedom wasn’t jeopardized, and there was no one to get revenge on, then this would have been a very different movie.
Forest Whitaker does his best Tommy Lee Jones impression
One of the biggest handicaps of Taken 3 is that it’s almost impossible for the film to give Bryan a worthy adversary. Since one of the main villains, Russian gangster Oleg Malankov (Sam Spruell), barely registers, the movie introduces Forest Whitaker as Inspector Frank Dotzler, the man pursuing Bryan after he’s framed for murder. It was meant to create a dynamic similar to the one between Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones’ characters in The Fugitive.
To this film’s credit, Dotzler is not an idiot. He does pick up on the clues that Bryan is innocent. Unfortunately, Taken 3 never successfully makes Dotzler into a character as compelling as Bryan, and he’s an afterthought in the story’s conclusion. Whitaker does the best possible job that anyone could have done under those circumstances, but his character is underwritten and largely superfluous in the grand scheme of things.
A Kim Possible hostage
Maggie Grace had a thankless task in Taken, as her character spent most of the film off screen as a kidnapping victim. Taken 2 gave Kim some measure of redemption as she helped her father break free when he was held captive. Unfortunately, Taken 3 goes back to the well of making Kim a hostage yet again during the closing sequence. Some diverting scenes have Kim evading Dotzler’s surveillance and assisting her father’s search for answers. But ultimately, Kim exists to be rescued by her father. Again.
It would have been a mistake if the film tried to reinvent Kim as a badass — as 24 season 3 tried to do with its Kim — but that doesn’t hide the fact that Taken‘s Kim is more of a plot device than a character. That’s why it’s hard to care about her fate aside from her connection to Bryan.
Weasel downgrade
Xander Berkeley played Lenore’s second husband, Stuart St. John, in the first Taken, but he didn’t return for Taken 3. Instead, Mission: Impossible 2‘s Dougray Scott took over the role of Stuart. And unfortunately, few could pull off Stuart’s weasel-like character better than Berkeley. Scott is a good actor, but he’s just not as convincing as Stuart, especially once the full extent of his involvement with Lenore’s death is revealed.
This film has the same issue with Stuart that it did with Bryan’s other adversaries: There simply isn’t another character in Taken 3 who can convincingly hold their own against Bryan. We care more about Bryan escaping his circumstances than about any of his would-be antagonists.
There are certainly far worse action movies than Taken 3, and it’s still better than many of Neeson’s other flicks in the genre. If you genuinely loved the first Taken, then sitting through the two sequels shouldn’t be a problem. But on its own terms, Taken 3 is largely forgettable. You’ll probably be better off just watching the original film again.
Rent or buy Taken 3 on Prime Video.
