CIMPLE – A Curious Introvert's Musings & Photos about Life and Enjoyment

Amazingly it has been over a month since going to the movie theater and the first movie outing of the year had a good start with Taken 3.  I have been a Liam Neeson fan since the 1990s after watching him in the film Michael Collins and have enjoyed his transformation into an action star over the last eight years.  Liam Neeson’s portrayal of Bryan Mills, an ex military and government operative, who has a “particular set of skills” that allows him to do whatever is necessary to save his daughter is the reason to see all three of the Taken movies.  I began looking forward to the movie during the Christmas holidays when they were running NBA promotional commercials on ESPN with Liam Neeson using the Bryan Mills dialogue while talking to basketball players and the commercial ending with his Taken catchphrase, “Good Luck.”   I probably could be voted president of the Aging Action Movie Star Saving the Day Fan Club.  I have to admit I am one of those people who watches all of my favorite action movies whenever they are on TV and prior to Taken 3, I saw the trailer for the next Terminator movie, Terminator Genisys, and I still love Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and his great catchphrase, “I’ll be Back” which I rank behind “Yippee Ki Yay” from the Die Hard movies in my new fan club’s ranking of favorite action movie catchphrases.  I would place Liam Neeson’s “Good Luck” as third and Clint Eastwood’s “Go ahead, make my day” as the fourth on the list.  Often in movie sequel reviews, especially the ones I read about Taken 3, there seems to be a surprise by movie reviewers that the same formula is being utilized, storylines are weak and that somehow as a fan we should be tired of this weak formula.  I must be a very faithful fan, because I rarely become tired of the repeat formula, always enjoy watching my favorite actors and am usually waiting for the next movie in the series.  As a fan of many action movie collections, such as Die Hard, Bourne, Mission Impossible, Expendables and Taken, the main enjoyment of the movie is the familiarity, strength and special skills of the leading actor or actors and settling into your theater seat with popcorn and M&Ms and waiting to see how they will save the day.  Liam Neeson’s strength of character as Bryan Mills and the belief that he will do whatever is necessary to take care of business overrides any of the implausibility of how he accomplishes that feat and is the reason I keep returning to the theater for another chance to be taken on an adventure with a great aging action movie star.