Taken 3
Dir: Olivier Megaton
2015
*
Taken 3 could and should have been called Taken 3: Takin' the piss. The first film was average but enjoyable enough, the second was plain awful but somehow it was a box office hit and so a third installment was commissioned. Taken 3 has made over $325 million. I can't even begin to explain this as it is one of the worst action films I've ever seen. Written and produced by Luc Besson, I wouldn't mind if he made these films to fund other work but he hardly directs anything anymore. If he would spend just a fraction of the close to Billion dollars he's made on the franchise then it would be worth it. Just. Olivier Megaton is back as director, like a hungry Dog thrown scraps. I can't imagine the script took much longer than a couple of minutes to write, it's fairly basic, is stupid and makes very little sense. Liam Neeson returns to the role and looks even more uncomfortable than he did in the last installment. Maggie Grace plays his daughter once more, character and actor learning nothing from the two previous films. The story sees Bryan Mills accused of a murder he didn't commit, instead of hand himself over to the police he decides to evade them and try to solve the case himself, accidentally blowing up two buildings, injuring dozens of Police and killing approx five innocent bystanders in the process. For a highly trained super-spy, he's pretty f**king clumsy. The action sequences are dull, all have been done before and done better. The acting is atrocious as is the script. It is dumb fun but without the fun. I've written far more about this film than it deserves.

Colombiana
Dir: Olivier Megaton
2011
***
Luc Besson produced action films are always generally a bit of a guilty pleasure. They usually involve car chases, revenge and parkour and Colombiana is no exception - except I liked it a little bit more than the others. It doesn't have the humour that many of his other films have like Taxi and The Transporter (towards the end anyway), it's quite serious throughout and better for it I think. It's no masterpiece but it's definitely got something special about it, there were even a few moments where I thought, could this be the new Nikita? It's no Nikita but it's definitely related and worth seeking out. Zoe Saldana is brilliant in the lead role and she really does prove her worth. 

Transporter 3
Dir: Olivier Megaton
2008
**
Transporter 3 looses much of it's charm for taking itself a little too seriously in this third and final outing of the franchise. Also, newcomer Natalya Rudakova is really annoying. Nice to see François Berléand back again and Robert Knepper makes for quite a good bad guy but the only thing I really got out of this film is an answer to a question I'd been asking myself at the time; What ever happened to Jeroen Krabbé? A sad ending really as I thought the franchise had legs, it deserved a better finale.

Taken 2
Dir: Olivier Megaton
2012
*
Taken 2 is so formulaic, so predictable and for an action film, a little bit slow. It is the most 'Seen it all before' film I've ever seen and yet, is so forgettable that I'm struggling to remember what film it is I'm reviewing. Tired and old and disappointing, just like D.B. Sweeney it seems. Okay, that was a bit harsh, I am a fan but seriously, what happened dude? It is also my firm belief that Luc Besson needs Olivier Megaton more than Olivier Megaton needs Luc Besson, again though, what happened dude? This should be stopped at once.