Streaking across the screen like a hyperactive PowerPoint slideshow, Taken 3 falls somewhere between the franchise's inspired first installment and its strenuous sequel. A limp script and director Olivier Megaton's blistering style can't drown Liam Neeson's growl, as charismatic and old school tough as ever. Though nearly suffocated in close-ups, the actor's “special skills” shine. He huffs, he puffs, he blows the house (and the goons inside) down. Physical blows are invisible, insinuated — Neeson won't be facing off against The Raid gang anytime soon — but death stares and one-liners pack their own punch in a sequel that gets the job done.
Wisely avoiding the “BLANK... has been taken” blueprints that burdened the second installment, franchise mastermind Luc Besson and series writer Robert Mark Kamen steal mercilessly from The Fugitive — which totally works. Framed for the murder of a loved one (all revealed in a spoilery trailer), Neeson's Bryan Mills goes on the run from police in order to prove his own innocence. Juggling his investigation with the continued safety of his forever-in-peril daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), Bryan races around Los Angeles, seizing clues by force and stumbling into answers. Taken 3 flirts with detective work, but realizes that arm-twisting can solve any mystery. Intrigue is low on the priority list.
http://ift.tt/1xOaiFH
No comments:
Post a Comment