Taken 3

Liam Neeson returns as former CIA operative Bryan Mills in this third installment of the action-packed franchise. Set in Los Angeles (as opposed to the exotic earlier film locations of Istanbul or Paris), Taken 3 begins with heavily tattooed Russian mobsters executing an innocent accountant because they're owed money—but finding none in the safe belonging to the victim's boss. At the same time, Mills is visited by his angst-riddled ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), whose marriage to wealthy Stuart St. John (Dougray Scott) is floundering. Shortly afterwards, Lenore's dead body is found in Mills's bed and he becomes the primary suspect. Determined to protect his now-grown daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and track down Lenore's killer, Mills goes “down the rabbit hole,” dodging the LAPD, led by Detective Franck Dotzler (Forest Whitaker). Directed by Olivier Megaton, this entry lacks the essential ingredients that propelled the first two thrillers: namely, a persuasive plot, and the compelling need of an anguished, aging, perennially pursued father with a “particular set of skills” to rescue a kidnapped member of his family. Instead, it serves up domestic melodrama punctuated by screeching, seemingly endless car chases on Southern California freeways. And since the villain's identity seems obvious from the get-go, there's not much surprise in this tediously trifling thriller. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a deleted scene (7 min.), “A Taken Legacy” franchise featurette (5 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Taken to L.A.” location featurette (5 min.), a “Sam's Bunker A.K.A. The Rabbit Hole” segment (3 min.), and bonus digital and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lackluster franchise entry.] (S. Granger)