Maggie Grace

Ramshackle, Rickety ‘Taken 3’ is Far Too Predictable

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 2.0/5.0
Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – “Taken 3” is more a brand extension than a movie. Seven years after “Taken” turned Liam Neeson into an unlikely action star, “Taken 3” shows this series has completely run out of gas. The novelty of the hulking Oscar-nominee beating bad guys to a pulp wore off a long time ago, and “Taken 3” puts Neeson through the most pedestrian set of paces yet. It says something when the operative word of his first scene is “predictable.” Neeson only says it a half dozen times.

‘Taken 2’ with Liam Neeson Trades Action For Nonsense

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Olivier Megaton’s “Taken 2” is utter nonsense, a film that plays like a cross between Seth MacFarlane spoofing the first film on “Family Guy” and “MacGyver” fan fiction (although nowhere NEAR as much fun as that might make it sound). Everything that worked about the action-packed “Taken,” a surprising hit and a solid genre flick, has been corrupted here by jump cuts, horrendous plotting, and a complete lack of anything of interest outside of Neeson’s half-engaged performance.

Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace in Annoying, Awful ‘Lockout’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

CHICAGO – The annoying and boring “Lockout” is a pile of aggressive junk masquerading as a good time. Some critics and viewers will pretend that this is a “fun B-movie” just because it has a few over-the-top sequences (that look completely cartoonish), an absolutely ridiculous premise, and a scenery-chewing performance from the great Guy Pearce.

Liam Neeson Elevates Above-Average Action Movie ‘Taken’

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Bringing the same screen presence and gravity that he has to more serious roles like those in “Schindler’s List” and “Kinsey,” Liam Neeson turns the relatively generic “Taken” into an above-average action movie that should prove a surprising alternative for movie goers looking for a break from Super Bowl coverage this weekend.

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