Hollywood has a long history of impossibly cool heroes. Operatives whose talents can stop any foe and often times dead in their tracks. If the character is strong enough it can even start its own cottage industry. From a list that includes heroes like James Bond, Indian Jones and Jason Bourne, the powers to be are trying to add the name Bryan Mills.
As a screen superstar, Mills (played so far by Liam Neeson) ticks a lot of the requisite boxes: former secret operative (CIA, SAS, you pick the acronym), possessor of superlative hand to hand combat skills and an intellect that is always one step ahead of the baddies. All of this is cinema gold.
What lets the side down with Mills though is the lack of strong story lines and a rather thin overall concept. The first Taken film featured a far from unique storyline but the overall product was appealing with it bold action scenes and a flow of screen deaths that comically strained credibility.
Part two of the franchise was even thinner in regards to storyline and now with edition number three, it’s almost nonexistent. This doesn’t mean the film is without its share of thrills, it’s just so dumbed down as to live in that overcrowded realm where a film’s action is its only real selling point.
Action films based on much loved books have always had an advantage in the market place with an already existing audience and sometimes a wealth of potential storylines (the Bond and Bourne books are a great illustration of this). If the Taken series hopes to have any real future, the screenplay writers are going to have to step up their game. Until then the Taken series will just be empty fun.
Rob Hudson
www.foxmovies.com
