Taken 3 (2014)

Taken 3 scores over its predecessor on almost every level: the stakes are higher, the LA locations are nicely photographed and, best of all, there’s an actual plot, with twists and everything.

Taken 3 is exactly what one might anticipate from an unnecessary sequel in a mediocre franchise.

Replacing the first two films' simplistic, man-on-the-run premise with a stuttering plot comparatively light on action and stuffed with red herrings and inconsequential characters... Besson's team has signed off the trilogy with a whimper rather than the kind of unfettered bang delivered by the first two films.

Megaton’s choppy editing barely disguises his star’s hatred of running, while a brutal 12A neutering lessens what limited fun remains in seeing Oscar Schindler creakily throw a Russian bad ‘un into some supermarket shelves.

Liam Neeson cuts a rather sorry figure in what’s less a final flourish for the series than a prolonged death rattle.