Third installment of the moneymaking Taken franchise ups the stakes… by “fridging” a main character
Up until now, the Taken movies – despite following the adventures of an ex-CIA hardcase spurred back into action by the kidnapping of his daughter – had managed to avoid the infamous “women in refrigerators” trope by virtue of Liam Neeson’s constantly-imperiled female family members actually surviving to the end of the films.
Not anymore, apparently.
The new trailer for the third film (which, yes, is actually called Tak3n) reveals that this time, the inciting incident that will spur superdad Brian Mills to unleash his “very specific set of skills” on a gauntlet of enemies is being framed for the murder of his wife (Famke Jannsen). Forrest Whitaker also joins the series for the first time in the Tommy Lee Jones Fugitive role of the lawman charged with tracking Mills down. Maggie Grace returns as Mills’ daughter, who was the victim in the original film and saw action of her own the sequel.
While early plot descriptions for Part 3 made only vague reference to “a murder that hits close to home,” many fans had already guessed that Jannsen’s character would come to a bad end in the film. The film is once again directed by Olivier Megaton, and is scheduled for release on January 9th.
