It all comes down to this supposedly final installment in the Taken series, with Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) taking on the challenge of clearing his name, when a mysterious figure from his past attempts to frame him for the murder of his ex-wife (Famke Janssen). When franchise creator Luc Besson first introduced audiences to Mills, there was a method to his action-happy madness, using hectic-editing and CSI-styled graphics to re-create crime and punishment through this character, but now it feels like what life there was has been taken from the premise, reducing it to yet another routine thriller. (Opens wide Friday) (PG-13) Not screened in time for review
This article appears in Jan 7-14, 2015.
