Commentary: ‘Taken 3’ Features A Complete Change In Character
by Frank Martin
Sequels are a dangerous proposition for a franchise, especially one that’s built off of a formulaic plot. Complex stories that are character driven offer a lot more possibilities to further stories along then those that rely on formulas. When a formulaic movie creates a sequel, it runs the risk of becoming derivative and merely repeating the formula. There are several things a franchise can do to avoid this, but they all run the risk of stretching a story beyond its limits. In the case of the Taken franchise, this happened once the series became a trilogy.
Starring Liam Neeson, the movies are first and foremost action thrillers. The first film saw Neeson’s daughter kidnapped while the second film had the kidnappers coming after him for revenge. Although the plot was formulaic, the story contained enough originality to work. The third film, however, did something quite strange. It turns the story inward and made it personal. Neeson’s ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Jensen), who appeared in major supporting roles in the previous two films, is murdered with Neeson’s character, Bryan Mills, framed for her death. Mills must uncover the conspirator behind the plot, who turns out to be Lenore’s current husband, Stuart St. John (Dougray Scott).
On its own, this premise is fairly straightforward for the genre. There’s just nothing special about it, but since this is a sequel, it’s important to look back at the character relationships that came before it. Lenore’s husband did not appear in the second film at all, but their marriage was said to be strained, which obviously continued into the third film. Stuart appeared in the first film, but he seemed completely different than his character in Taken 3. First off, he was portrayed by Xander Berkeley in the first Taken, which shouldn’t necessarily have any effect on the story. But he was an ally in the first film and a villain in the third. The drastic character change was a deliberate choice to spice up the plot. Unfortunately, this decision betrayed the husband’s entire characterization that was created in the first film, all for the sake of creating drama for a trilogy.
Taken 3 is now streaming on Max.
