Transporter 3 (2008)

The third film takes us back to sunny France (Marseilles), where Frank once again has an actual package to deliver. However, he's not happy about it, and in order to complete the mission his rules will have to be broken smashed.
To make matters worse, he has additional baggage in the shape of an unwelcome passenger. Her name is Valentina (Natalya Rudakova). She's designed to be annoying, and, by Christ, she is! 100%.
Dir. Megaton's idea of what makes a good action scene is choreographed moves presented as a clusterfuck of badly edited scenes thrown at the viewer's eyes at breakneck speed until there's only one man left standing.
As the film goes on the abominable editing begins to extend beyond the martial arts scenes, but it's even more unwelcome there. Sitting to the closing credits of T3 was a kind of self-inflicted punishment for me.

1½ addendums out of 5

Taken 3 (2014)

Olivier Megaton takes the directorial reigns again as Bryan Mills fights to clear his name when he is framed for his ex-wife's murder. This time on American soil, he must circumnavigate the police and one very crafty detective (Forest Whitaker). While Neeson is usually cast now as the grisly yet crafty veteran, I really saw his age in a few of the chase scenes. The camerawork covers it up with nauseatingly jarring close-up shots and movements. I found the vehicular chase scenes completely laughable and groan-inducing. But the close-combat hand-to-hand fight sequences were the true highlight of the film. Predictable twists and a mountain of plotholes and corn-veniences aside, the third installment keeps up the action and thrills despite an aging Neeson.

2½ unwanted crotch shots out of 5

TAKEN 2 [2012]

Liam Neeson is back as the scary-as-hell father on a mission for vengeance in the sequel to the surprisingly fun action/thriller Taken.
With Pierre Morel out of the director's chair, it seems like a no-brainer to get The Transporter 3 director Olivier Megaton behind the camera seeing as Luc Besson is still involved.
While the first one as a refreshingly violent and brainless thrill-ride, the second one is dull, predictable and pretty much seems like the first one only tamer, tired and completely forgettable.  As an action star, Neeson is still a joy to watch but nothing much more is worth seeking out in Taken 2.

2 grenade triangulations out of 5