TAKEN 3 (Rated PG-13)

The Liam Neeson action series “Taken” has arrived at its third and presumably final installment, given the tag line “It ends here” would appear to settle the matter.

This comes not a moment too soon for many critics who disdain the action heroics of well-known stars only a few years removed from having a Medicare card.

Fans of this franchise are likely to be far less disappointed than disaffected film reviewers. After all, Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills, a former CIA operative, is one tough cookie as he dispatches an assortment of villains with his usual workmanlike efficiency.

If “Taken 3” is to be the last chapter, it’s not a threadbare farewell.

Yet, the third installment does, on the whole, lack the excitement of the previous exotic foreign venues, such as when Mills in the first film, on the loose in Paris, hunted down with brutal effectiveness the Albanian slave traders who had abducted his daughter.

“Taken 3” begins with catching up on the family dynamics.

Bryan’s daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), now in college, has recently become pregnant by her boyfriend, and is afraid to tell her father when his idea to celebrate her upcoming birthday is an inappropriate gift of an oversized stuffed animal.

Byran’s ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) also figures into the story once again, this time seeking support as her marriage to the super-wealthy Stuart (Dougray Scott) has turned shaky.

It’s obvious to practically everyone, except Lenore, that her husband is a shady character tied to dubious business partners.

An unfortunate murder occurs at Bryan’s apartment while he’s out getting warm bagels at a local coffeehouse.

An elaborate frame is set in motion by sleazy Russian thugs connected to mobster Oleg Malankov (Sam Spruell), leaving behind a messy, bloody crime scene that makes Bryan the prime suspect.

Once again, Bryan is a man on the run, but this time in the Los Angeles area, and as the target of a manhunt conducted by the LAPD under the command of Inspector Frank Dotzler (Forest Whitaker), a relentless pursuer who has to cope with the incompetence of unproductive subordinates.

On some levels, “Taken 3” lacks the sense of urgency of the previous two films in that Bryan is not in a race against the clock to rescue his daughter or ex-wife from savage Albanians.

This time, he’s forced to evade arrest for a crime he didn’t commit just long enough to solve the case at least two steps ahead of Inspector Dotzler.

This being an action film in the spirit of its predecessors, “Taken 3” generates the requisite amount of fistfights, shootouts and car chases.

The special circumstance of being chased by the police requires a balancing act of Bryan taking tough measures to escape the clutches of the LAPD without resorting to the use of any deadly force in self-defense.

The most exciting moment comes when Bryan steals a squad car and ends up being pursued by half of the Los Angeles police force on a freeway chase that involves a spectacular wipeout of police cars, random vehicles and even a massive truck trailer.

One insurmountable problem for “Taken 3,” which may be overlooked if only because Liam Neeson kicks ass, is that the action is at times somewhat incoherent and ludicrous, lacking the requisite logic. Even Neeson is neither lucky nor good enough to survive multiple car explosions and freeway accidents.

Keanu Reeves in “John Wick” killed more guys in a brutal fashion than occurs here with Bryan once he penetrates Malankov’s penthouse lair. Still, the film is a guilty pleasure when Bryan’s no-holds-barred brutality is unleashed with furious abandon.

It is observed more than once that Neeson’s Bryan Mills has a special set of skills. That’s why he is so elusive every time the police are on his immediate tail.

“Taken 3” has its own distinctive skills, namely delivering the action goods, even if somewhat diminished from the more exalted standard of the superior first installment.

Even with some of its faults, it’s hard not to like Liam Neeson in the full-on action mode. His forceful heroics are fun to watch.

Action junkies should likely judge that “Taken 3” is a satisfying measure of the aging star’s ability to deliver the goods.

There may not be a “Taken 4” but Liam Neeson probably has enough left in the tank to supply a few more films in this genre. 

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.