Taken 3 (2015; France/USA; FotoKem; 109m) ∗∗½ d. Olivier Megaton; w. Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen; ph. Eric Kress; m. Nathaniel Méchaly. Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Jonny Weston, Forest Whitaker, Dougray Scott, Jon Gries, Leland Orser, Andrew Howard, Don Harvey, Al Sapienza. 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. What starts out promisingly, although borrowing liberally from 1993’s THE FUGITIVE, becomes increasingly formulaic and predictable. The action sequences are so frenetically edited as to be incomprehensible draining away any tension. Neeson displays a magnetic screen presence but he has little to work with leaving Whitaker to take the acting honours as the pursuing detective. Extended version runs 111m. [12]
