Taken 3 (2015) * *

Directed by:  Olivier Megaton

Starring:  Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott, Famke Janssen, Sam Spruell, Don Harvey

Unlike the first two Takens, no one is actually taken in this third installment of the series.    Someone is murdered and Neeson's Bryan Mills finds himself as the prime suspect.    Neeson goes on the lam to prove his innocence, which includes assaulting police officers, shooting bad guys, blowing up cars and buildings, causing traffic collisions galore, and of course hacking into the LAPD computers.    An unintentional laugh occurs when a character tells Mills, "Hacking into the computer is illegal and we could arrest you for that."   Mills continues his streak of being responsible for numerous deaths and mayhem, yet walking away with nary a single police citation.    How about at least one for resisting arrest?    Just one? 

This is Neeson's third go-round as Mills, a former operative (CIA? FBI? In three movies, we never do find out) whose daughter was kidnapped in Taken and who himself is kidnapped (along with his ex-wife) in Taken 2.     Now, he is accused of murder after he finds his ex-wife dead in his apartment.    He assaults the two police officers attempting to arrest him and flees.     LAPD detective Franck Dotzler (Whitaker) is on his trail and in awe of the skills Mills warned his daughter's kidnappers about in the first film.     "He knows how to disappear," he tells his subordinates as they track Mills.

Disappear he does, except when he is causing a 26-car collision on the freeway, or blowing up an elevator shaft after seemingly crashing his car into it.    How exactly did he escape that?    Such trivial matters aren't explained in a film like this.    Mills is like a cyborg.    He seemingly goes days without sleep or much wear and tear.     He survives a tumbling car crash down a mountainside with nary a scratch on him.     Bruce Willis' character in Unbreakable would envy him.     The T-1000 terminator in Terminator 2 doesn't hold a candle to Mills.

Neeson is 62 and never once shows his age.    He runs away from trouble with stamina that would shame a marathon runner.     He is coming very close to Sylvester Stallone territory with his age-defying stunts.     The body count is a little less in Taken 3, but that's only because there are a few less Russian baddies and assorted villains to contend with.    Oh yes, there is a Russian mob crew that is after some money owed to them by Mills' ex-wife's rich husband.     Is there a connection?    Nah.   Although the presence of Dougray Scott as the rich hubby should set off its own spoiler alert as to...oh, never mind.

Taken 3 isn't as unintentionally funny as Taken 2 and not as skilled as Taken.    It is a formula chase picture punctuated by choppy edits which cloud exactly what we're seeing.    Neeson brings skill and his considerable screen presence to the role like a classical pianist would bring to Chopsticks.     It is well done, but a wasteful use of talent and resources.    Neeson has spent much of the past six years in action films or roles that don't stretch his talents.     There has to be another Oskar Schindler or Rob Roy in him somewhere.