STACK NZ June 2015 Issue 63

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the more you have to prepare the 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
THIRD TIME
TAKEN
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,
i
Bryan Mills, the ex-covert operative with a “very particular set of skills”,
returns for the third and final time inTAKEN 3.
We've tried to avoid
doing anything in excess
just to excite an audience
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been, well, taken (all without ever 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 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.”