Sequels are hard to do. In the case of Taken 3, a sequel is very hard. Taken 3 may have been enjoyable but watching it after watching the first two, one would realize that it’s a lousy movie. My biggest problem with the film is that it’s completely separated from the previous ones, and that the movie’s character development of the main villain is inconsistent and takes substance away from the main character.

In the first Taken movie, the audience was absorbed into the hunt for ex-CIA Agent Bryan Mills‘s daughter Kim, when she was kidnapped by a group of Albanians. In the second installment, Mills and his wife Lenore are taken by the same group of revenge-seeking Albanians. Thankfully, in Taken 3, being “taken” is not a key plot motivator. It would have been ridiculous to repeat a plot that had already been worn out. But the writers surely could’ve found a way to connect the third film to the other two in some way, rather than have a movie that seems like it shouldn’t have been made in the first place. A possible plot line could have involved a corrupt French government, similar to the one Mills uncovered in the first film. Instead, it seems like they dug an unrelated script out of the trash and replaced all the characters with characters from Taken. The villains in the movie really bring the movie down as a whole as well. They are inconsistent and they don’t leave any impression on the viewer. That’s a problem for me because a great villain makes an interesting plot and conflict. There was no strong conflict between Bryan Mills or any of the antagonists in this film. The main conflict exists between Ex-KGB Spetnaz Oleg Malankov and Lenore’s ex-husband Stuart. This completely takes the focus away from the main character Bryan Mills and instead focuses on petty drama between secondary characters.

The journey in the first two films made one feel included in the chase and in the protagonist‘s shoes, taking the adventure step-by-step with him. It didn’t feel that way in the third one, and brings the franchise down. For those who are planning on seeing Taken 3, loved the first two, and are expecting it to live up to them, all I have to say is “good luck.”