Taken 3: It Ends Here Expected to Dominate the Weekend Box Office
Taken 3, officially titled It Ends Here, is the third and final installment in the 'Taken' film series written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. As with the original and the sequel, Taken 3 stars Liam Neeson in the lead as ex-CIA operative Brian Mills. Premiering in theaters this Friday, January 9, it will, despite what the critics say, likely rule the weekend box office.
Taken 3 has received generally negative reviews from the critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 25% rating. For instance, Emma Dibdin at Digital Spy says the film "is as hackneyed and unashamedly cynical as sequels get, a miserable blend of tin-eared soap opera and clunky action that feels infinitely longer than its 109 minutes" while Clarence Tsui at The Hollywood Reporter maintains that the "white-knuckle series concludes with a whimper rather than a bang." Still, the Liam Neeson-starrer is expected to "dethrone The Hobbit and could debut at $30 million" says Todd Cunningham at The Wrap.
Directed by Olivier Megaton, the movie will follow a plot which will have Neeson's character framed for a murder he did not commit. Mills and his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) are enjoying a moment of reconciliation when Lenore is suddenly brutally murdered. Bryan who gets framed for the crime, flees from the CIA, FBI and police which are all in hot pursuit. While in the process of evading his pursuers, Brian rendezvous' with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) in the women's restroom during her class at UCLA. The police on discovering his whereabouts, tries to apprehend him. He sets off a flash grenade in a classroom, activating the school's fire sprinkler system and allowing him a chance to escape. Taken 3 will see the very last time that Mills will be seen using his 'particular set of skills' to track down the real killers of his ex-wife, protect his daughter and ensure that his own unique brand of justice is handed out.
Aside from Neeson, Janssen and Grace, the others in the cast include Forest Whitaker, Dougray Scott, Sam Spruell, Jon Gries, Leland Orser, Jonny Weston, Dylan Bruno, Andrew Borba, Judy Beecher, Al Sapienza, Don Harvey, Alex Wraith, Philip Silvera, John Manison, Derrick Worsley, Dale Liner, and Alex Disdier.
In the first Taken film, Kim was shown taken by the Albanian mob to be sold as sex slave and had to be rescued by her father Brian. In Taken 2, Bryan and his ex-wife Lenore were seen taken by the mob as revenge and had to be rescued by their daughter Kim. In Taken 3, Lenore's life and Brian's reputation will be seen taken. But it ends here.