STACK #128 Jun 2016

DVD & BD

FEATURE

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THIRD TIME TAKEN

Bryan Mills, the ex-covert operative with a “very particular set of skills”, returns for the third and final time inTAKEN 3.

T he Taken series propelled Liam Neeson into action movie glory, as the father who will stop at nothing to protect his family from harm. To audiences, the character of Bryan Mills is as much identified by his love for his family as his lethal skill set. “I was excited to come back for the third film, but I did have some reservations at first, because what else could we do?” muses Neeson. He knew they couldn’t lose Kim again, “otherwise [Bryan would] be up for really bad parenting”, and acknowledged screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen for creating an interesting storyline for the third film. “What makes Taken 3 a quintessential entry in the trilogy is that, at its heart, it’s still about Mills doing everything in his power to save his family,” says Neeson. “That’s why these films resonate with a global audience, because at their core, they are about the love and sanctity of family and the lengths we’ll go to protect that. “Even though Bryan Mills is a guy with a ‘particular set of skills’, he’s also a kind of everyman,” he adds. “Parents will do anything for their kids and they see that in Bryan. For all his faults, he still is a very devoted father who’ll do anything for his child. But I think audiences also enjoy the fact that he bucks the system and doesn’t trust anyone in authority. And if he has to break the law, then he does.” One of the more attractive elements of the Taken series is its ability to balance both the emotional and psychological elements with the action sequences. “The more action you have, the more you have to prepare the

using the word “kidnapped”), the third in the series instead revolves around him evading authority. “The underlying stories in the Taken films are solid,” Neeson says. “We’ve tried to avoid doing anything in excess just to excite an audience. The triggers for that action have always been very strong. And it’s, of course, about Bryan Mills defending his family and protecting them, against all odds. You have that bedrock of a very stable relationship that’s being tested all the time. So once you have that base in place and audiences believe in that charge of love – especially between Bryan and his daughter Kim – you can take the action anywhere you want.” Taken 3 is the biggest Taken film yet. Highlights include lightning-fast fight sequences, an incredible freeway chase, and relentless pacing. For Neeson, Taken 3 is the culmination of a film series that has both thrilled and moved audiences around the

We've tried to avoid doing anything in excess just to excite an audience

world. “I think moviegoers are in store for a cinematic joyride, many thrills and spills and certainly a lot of heart,” he promises. “And I’m a big believer in heart in movies.”

audience,” says director Olivier Megaton. “So you have to build your characters in another way. It’s tricky because things keep snowballing. And that spiralling pace is even built into the characters’ emotional and human development. First, we’re in the midst of some emotional turbulence, and then the action bursts in, like a big typhoon... When the action barrels in, you don’t see it coming because you’re submerged in that emotional chaos. Then suddenly you’re in this physical chaos. That’s the basic structure of this movie.” Though the first two Taken films follow MIlls in his pursuit of someone close to him having been, well, taken (all without ever

• Taken 3 is out on June 3

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