In order to complete this review, let’s game this out logically. What should you do with a hit movie theme that needs a spark of imagination and creativity to move the characters development along?
Plot # 1 would have Liam Neeson, a man with “a special set of skills” but also one with a softer side when it comes to his grown daughter and his ex-wife, doing something different this time around. You could pick up the action by tacking back to the history of his friendship and loyalties with his military buddies in special-ops. And expand from there. Like James Bond, you might pit his wits and expertise against a formidable foe- a Dr. No or a version of Professor Moriarty, as found in Sherlock Holmes.
Or, you could just write a plodding and fairly pedestrian story about some thugs who killed your ex-wife. And waste the talents of a good actor like Liam Neeson in a very run-of-the-mill re-hash of the same story. What should you do?
In the case of Taken 3, the easy way out was the road taken in this forgettable film. Only Liam Neeson die-hards need apply for this outing.