Taken 3

Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Dougray Scott and Sam Spurell.

Director: Olivier Megaton

Release Date: 2014

Running Time: 1hr 44 minutes

Genre: Action/Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis:

Ex CIA Bryan Mills (Neeson), is accused of a ruthless murder he never committed or witnessed. As he is tracked down and pursued, Mills brings out a particular set of skills to find the true killer and clear his name.

Olivier Megaton seems to have an ongoing trend with his movies, where there must be a birthday taking place at the beginning of each film. Maggie is once again a year older and this time she's greeted by a giant panda teddy bear from her dad. A couple of years have passed since the last film, Kim is now living with her boyfriend Jamie, who we were introduced to in the last film. It becomes apparent that Lenore has been seeing someone else since the last film took place, who coincidentally she also doesn't seem to be getting along with very well either so ends up consulting in ex husband Bryan for advice. This film gets going so much faster then the last film and it'll certainly take you by surprise when you find who's murder he's been accused of. I really appreciate the emotional factor that comes with this film compared to the others.

Neeson's performance in this film takes a very interesting turn, Megaton has definitely chosen to focus on his character primarily more then the others. Forest Whitaker is not an actor I am that familiar with however his performance in this film was surprisingly pleasant as Detective Frank Dotlzer. It looks like Megaton might have learnt from his previous mistakes, because this film is shot far much better then "Taken 2" the cinematography looks nicer and the editing is much sharper and cleaner. The action sequences have been shot far better then the last time, the storyline has been beautifully written, there's plenty of thrills and suspense, the audience is enticed right from the beginning, so as a member of the audience you have a much more enjoyable experience. You certainly aren't left sat there feeling bored.

The movie flows very nicely from scene to scene it make perfect sense. Cinematographer Eric Kress has produced a very nice looking movie, most of the movie is shot in Los Angeles which makes a pleasant surprise considered the last two films weren't. The lighting adds to the tone of the film very nicely, as a whole it really does look very good. If you love explosions, you'll really enjoy this film, there's plenty of them. Megaton has chosen a range of different camera angles, including medium shots, aerial shots, low angle shots and close ups of the actors particularly that of Kim and Bryan. In "Taken 2" Megaton had chosen to speed a lot of his action sequences up which caused a feeling of motion sickness for the audience, I really appreciate that the action sequences in this film have been slowed down, not only are they more enjoyable but they actually look better on screen.

Again it's disappointing to be introduced to a bad guy and hardly see them on screen. Don't get me wrong the movie flows perfectly well without him, however it would have been nice to see him on screen a little bit more. This movie is full of surprises, I really like the fact that it isn't that predictable, I definitely didn't see the murder coming, or who it was should I say. There is a pleasant surprise with Kim too, let's just say that Panda might come in handy? All in all this is a very enjoyable movie, the action sequences are fantastic, it's thrilling from beginning to end, it's been beautifully shot, the storyline is brilliant, easily the best in the franchise. I would definitely recommend this over "Taken 2" , you don't necessarily have to watch them in order either, as this one doesn't lead on from the last. Liam Neeson's performance in this film is absolutely brilliant, I cannot highly recommend this movie enough. Thrilling and full of suspense.

5/5 stars