TAKEN 3 Extended Cut DVD (2015)

SYNOPSIS: The hunter becomes the hunted when Liam Neeson returns as former CIA operative Bryan Mills who finds himself framed for the brutal murder of his ex-wife. Consumed with rage and pursued by a savvy police inspector, Mills must rely on his particular set of skills one last time to find the real killers, clear his name and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Rest assured, no one is being Taken this time round. First it was his daughter then it was his wife in the sequel and now Luc Besson and his regular writer, Robert Mark Kamen has practically run out of ideas to conclude the third instalment (hopefully the last) of the hugely successful Taken series.

Right from the start,Taken 3 is incredibly silly and unnecessarily tedious. You can’t really imagine a simple revenge tale involving Russian thugs and a sinister-looking husband of Mills’ wife can be that atrociously boring. Even with Bryan Mills’ constant display of his particularly set of skills can’t salvage this poorly execute action movie.      

Why on earth did Bryan Mills escape from the police after his wife is slayed? Is it because of this thirst for revenge or he has no confidence in the local cops? Then there is a sort of clever cop character in the form of Forest Whitaker and his bunch of dumb minions who are always one step behind Bryan filling up the screentime whenever Liam Neeson is out on toilet break.

Maybe you will be impressed by character actor Sam Spruell (Snow White and the Huntsman), his ruthless portrayal of an ex-Spetsnaz operative Oleg Malankov might send chills down your spine. Dougray Scott no stranger to playing dubious characters is in for an easy paycheck. Famke Janssen who gets credited for all three movies has it easy, it’s a pity she bail out shortly after 15 minutes and she didn’t even have time to take her warm bagel. Maggie Grace on the other hand at the ripe age of 32 is still playing a college student.

Liam Neeson continues to work hard to ply his action moves despite being qualify for a SG50 card. But his hard work is letdown by the motion sickness inducing camera moves and red bull pumped up editing techniques that you are unlikely able to make out what’s happening onscreen. Is there a fist fight going on? Or is there a car chase going around?

Obviously Oliver Megaton doesn’t possess any remarkable skill set to shoot and tell a coherent, enjoyable action flick. Let’s pray that Besson stop at this lackluster instalment once and for all. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD comes with an extended cut which is about seven minutes longer than the theatrical version. 

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is impressive with dynamic loud engaging sound effects and while the camera moves might cause your head to spin, the visuals are satisfying with slight color grading.   

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee