The first trailer for "Taken 3" (also known as "Tak3n") is now out, and fans seem to find the wait for its release next year growing unendurable.
Liam Neeson reprises his role as kick-ass former CIA operative, Bryan Mills. However, instead of tracking down the likes of human traffickers and terrorists, the franchise departs from its traditional premise as this time Mills becomes a fugitive - on the run after he is wrongfully accused of and framed for the murder of his wife, Manly Movie reported on the plot reveal.
"I have to go on the run, I'll put it that way, from the not-so-lawful types and the lawful authorities. Bryan Mills served his country faithfully, but now even they are after him. They must not like me," Neeson said of his character, according to USA Today.
But like in the two previous films, Neeson's Mills will employ his "particular set of skills" to track the real killer and exact his own brand of justice.
In 2008's "Taken", Mills wreaks havoc in France as he tracks down his daughter (Maggie Grace) after she is abducted in Paris by Albanian human traffickers to be sold into sexual slavery. In the 2012 sequel, Mills and his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) are captured in Istanbul, Turkey by Albanians hell-bent on avenging their loved ones Mills killed in the first film.
"This time, no more traveling," added Neeson in the USA Today report. "If my daughter was 'taken' again on a trip, Bryan Mills would have to be certifiably locked up for bad parenting."
Neeson provides unquestionable credibility to the role, what with the dirty tactics display and convincing punches that he throws, not to mention his killer voice over the phone (his "I have a particular set of skills" and "goodluck" lines are heart-pumping, spine-shivering classics).
Co-star Forest Whitaker, who joins the franchise as pursuing law enforcement agent Inspector Franck Dotzler, said of Neeson: "People are attracted to quiet heroes. Liam's presence has that. He gives people a sense of comfort and security. And he's an excellent actor."
The task of running from authorities, according to The Hollywood Reporter, while trying to keep his daughter safe and determine who killed her mother is "a fitting task for Mills."
"Taken 3" is an action-thriller film directed by Olivier Megaton and written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It will be the third and final installment of the "Taken" film series. The film stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, and Forest Whitaker. "Taken 3" is scheduled to hit theaters on January 9, 2015.
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