Liam Neeson Returns for ‘Taken 3’

“Taken” saw Bryan Mills’ daughter abducted by a sex slave operation. His wife, Lenore, was in the middle of the drama in “Taken 2.” The third installment in the series leaves Lenore dead; Mills accused of murder, and then finds him on the run. His particular set of skills help him escape being arrested but then trigger a manhunt.

Being a former CIA operative, Mills is able to keep the suspense up as he dodges the cops while trying to get to the bottom of his wife’s murder. Not just for her sake, but to clear his name. All the while, he has to worry about his daughter being hurt. She was the one that sparked the endless taken cycle in Mills’ life back in 2008 when “Taken” first entered moviegoers’ lives.

Olivier Megaton is back at the helms directing Neeson for the second time around. He also was the man behind the camera calling the shots during “Taken 2.” On the writing end, no one else could deliver the formula of the series quite like the dynamic duo of Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. They penned all three of “Takens” together and clearly go by the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Joining Neeson is the usual cast of characters. Famke Janssen returns shortly as Lenore, and their daughter Kim is reprised once again by Maggie Grace. Filling out the rest of the cast is Forest Whitaker, who takes the lead when it comes to finding Mills, as well as Dougray Scott, Al Sapienza and Judi Beecher.

Using the same formula as the previous movies but adding a murderous twist makes “Taken 3” a must for fans who continue to enjoy Liam Neeson’s mix of suspense, action and drama.

“Taken 3” opens in theaters Jan. 9, 2015.