Taken 3

Every franchise has a particular life span.  A lot of it is dependent on consistency.  But a significant factor of longevity is also, "What is different this time around"? Taken 3 scores low on both counts.  The similarity ends with the characters from the Paris and Istanbul editions.

There is a significant departure from the basic premise. It is not a story of someone being kidnapped OR Taken to begin with. So it may as well have been called by another name like Non-Stop or Unknown or A Walk Among Tombstones. It is a genre of movies that has been formed over the past 5-6 years.  It is a genre called Liam Neeson.

The third and final installment (as the posters proclaim) finishes as a meek attempt to squeeze everything possible from the audience that had lapped up the earlier editions of this franchise.  Regrettably they do not get the formula right and have given it a less than memorable send off (provided they do not go back on their word).

Taken 3 gets off the blocks very slowly with Bryan Mills (Neeson) bringing a giant panda 🐼 as a birthday gift for his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). The Hindi music in the background seemed as out of place as the panda itself. Bryan's hope of surprising his daughter falls flat. He finds a shoulder in his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Jenssen) who is having some trouble with her marriage to Stuart St. John (Dougaray Scott).

In fact, Stuart goes onto ask Bryan to not speak to Lenore any more. Bryan obliges only to receive a message from Lenore the next morning to meet over bagels. The good ex-husband that Bryan is, he walks across to pick bagels only to return to Lenore's cold body with a slit throat. The chase then begins.

The slow build up is compensated with some great chases soon after. First on foot with some exhibition of Parkour thrown in for garnish (it has become mandatory these days).  It then moves onto a frenetic car chase on the freeway which is in typical Taken fashion.  But that’s all you will get to keep you happy.

There are some classy dialogues in between that keep the audience entertained.  Liam Neeson excels in the dialogue delivery but does look a tad jaded and probably bored of reprising the same role over and over again.  The support cast is as good as furniture.  Really nothing exciting in the acting department per se.

Oliver Megaton has great action flicks to his credit like Transporter 3, Colombiana and even Taken 2.  But even with such solid backing behind him, Megaton struggles to put up a respectable showing with Taken 3.  I think the franchise had just run out of steam.  Watchable on TV.  5 on 10.  Disappointing end to the series.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2340859673/?ref_=tt_ov_vi

Snow White and the Huntsman

How many adaptations of Snow White in a single year. 2 already. Mirror Mirror and now Snow White and the Huntsman. And news is that Disney is already planning a re-mastered release of the original animation this year. Technically, Mirror Mirror released last year world over and came into this country a wee bit later. So I guess it is one adaptation a year. The good news though is that all of them have been really well made and distinctly different from the other. Not just for getting news bites which say, “We have a different take on Snow White” but a serious attempt at differentiation.

Snow White and the Huntsman, is my first experience with a version of the fairy tale which is distinctly action oriented and not soppy fairy tale types. It begins with the story of Ravenna (Charlize Theron) who is saved by the king and taken back home to be the queen. But little does the king know that he is adding to the list of Ravenna’s victims to date. Ravenna’s desire to stay young forever drives her to move from kingdom to kingdom and she uses her power and magic to suck the youth out of young girls at frequent intervals. She takes over from the king and jails his daughter Snow White.

Many years later, when Snow White turns 18 and the mirror has to inform Ravenna that she is not the fairest anymore, Ravenna sends her brother to get Snow White. However Snow White escapes into the Dark Forest where Ravenna’s powers are useless. So she sends a desperate huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) after her by promising him a life time of joy and happiness by bringing his wife back to life. And so the chase begins.

This time around, the emphasis on the dwarves is very minimal. Although we have the likes of Ian McShane and Bob Hoskins playing them, their part is restricted to less than 25% of the movie. There are other aspects such as the sinister nature of the Dark Forest and the village of women who have scarred themselves in an attempt to stay alive have been given a lot of screen time.

And that’s what makes this version very watchable to say the least. Add to these twists, a finale that has an amazing set of special effects. Actually made me wonder why this was never released in 3D in India. Would have been brilliant. Something that debutante director Rupert Sanders missed out on I guess. And surprisingly too. Because he had only Charlize Theron to play with in the cast – who was brilliant as Ravenna – but the rest of the lead cast with the insipid Kirstin Stewart and plastic Chris Hemsworth gave him nothing much to play with. As such, it didn’t matter because the movie was well made and entertaining for certain. 6 on 10 and worth a dekko I say.

Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2494275609/