The third installment of the Liam Neeson Taken series hit theaters early last week in what one can only call a pathetic plethora of explosions.

Neeson, or “Bryan Mills,” returns to the screen to solve yet another tragedy involving his loved-ones. This time, it’s the somewhat-still-interested-ex-wife.

The retired CIA operative, while being framed for the murder of his ex-wife, runs, jumps and climbs around California to solve the crime himself despite numerous efforts to be stopped by the police.

The events of “Taken 3” are almost completely unrelated to the two previous installments, making Mills seem less like a former serviceman pushed back into work and more like someone who just wants to put themselves in harm’s way.

Much like all action movies, the explosions and life-threatening hurdles Mills experienced in “Taken 3” were incredibly unrealistic. This is the norm for action movies, but it seems “Taken 3” took it to another level, having a middle-aged man walk away from multiple car crashes, falls and explosions without a scratch.

The most disappointing aspect of the movie was the story line.

It seems as if the writers ran out of content halfway through production and filled the rest of the 112 minutes with unnecessary hoops for Mills to jump through.

With all of the action, we almost forget that the entire problem could have been solved in one easy step: Have the police check the surveillance cameras of the bagel shop Mills was visiting while his ex-wife was murdered. Boom, Mills is no longer a suspect. But you can’t release a two-hour movie on that.

So instead, the “action” drags on. Mills kills a few people, things explode, he doesn’t die, and then, by the time the audience has laughed more than they’ve gasped, the detectives finally figure it out.

All in all, “Taken 3” was a sad attempt at a sequel, much like the third installment of every series. It does deserve some credit for being entertaining, just not in the way it was intended to be.