Ed's Review Dot Com

Canal+, Ciné+, EuropaCorp,

Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Forest Whitaker, Leland Orser, Jon Gries

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is back, as usual trying to mind his own business. He’s trying to be a good father to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who lives with her Mom Lenore (Famke Jannsen) and her Step Dad. But when Bryan gets a call to meet his ex-wife, he steps out for bagels, and comes home to find her in his bed with her throat cut, and all the evidence points to him. He has only a day or so to figure out who really killed his wife while he goes off the grid hiding from the police force and Detective Frank Dotzler (Forest Whitaker) who are out to bring him in. This is the third and final segment of the series, which has been a rip roaring action trilogy of the best kind.

Liam Neeson is an amazing action star. Truly I think he’s one of the best, which is surprising in a way, but he can surely keep up with others much younger than he is. He’s basically in one scrape after another throughout the whole movie, and every time it looks like there’s no way out, he finds a way. This has been an awesome trilogy, from the very first when his daughter was kidnapped while on an overseas trip, and through the second where his wife was kidnapped to draw him out again and an adventure all over the world. This one pretty much stays close to home, no one gets kidnapped, really, but the setup and payoff is really awesome. I suppose it will be pretty easy to tell who the real culprit is right off, but the plot is rather sticky anyway, and the action is non-stop throughout. But the addition of Forest Whittaker was brilliant. His character’s wit and wisdom up against the sly dog Bryan Mills is something to behold. It’s obvious that both men have a high regard for the abilities of the other, and each one is just a man of character trying to do the right thing. The violence and gore is pretty high for a PG-13 movie, but it is one excellent action piece. There is one moment where Frank and Bryan are talking to each other on the phone where Frank asks Bryan to step aside and let the police force do their job, and Bryan asks, “What is your primary objective?” Frank replies, “To capture him and bring him to justice”. Bryan’s response “Mine is to protect the only one I have left” is the clue that there’s going to be an extremely exciting finish to the story! However, they threw in a really nasty hint of a sequel, so we’ll see if they’re going to really continue the story or not. I’d say it’s a coin flip which way it’s going to go.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog