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In Taken 3, inspector Dotzler both constantly plays around with either a rubber band or a white knight (chess piece). I never really quite understood the significance of either one of these, but they seemed important because they both showed up several times.

Why were they signifigant to Dotzler's character?

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  • Like you I was waiting for some explanation as to why he was always playing with that chess piece, the camera zoomed in on it almost every time he was on screen. I've come to the conclusion that Taken 3 is complete garbage, and the chess piece was just another aspect of how bad it was. There is no explanation, he just carries it around. Maybe there is a deleted scene where it's explained, but I've watched it twice... it's never explained or even referenced in the slightest. I really liked the first Taken btw, I don't hate those movies at all, but number 3 is very poor.
    – Daft
    Feb 2, 2015 at 15:47
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    Not arguing with that, but posted below what Whitaker said about it, anyway. Make of it what you will...
    – Walt
    Feb 4, 2015 at 7:11

2 Answers 2

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From an interview with Forest Whitaker who portrayed Dotzler in the film (apologies if I got some words wrong):

Interviewer: He's a great character, he's got a lot of fun quirks to him. Was the rubber band and the chess piece thing in the script all along, or did you come up with that?

Whitaker: No, [me and the director] were trying to find something that... the rubber band would be like [wrapping up] the cases and stuff. Chess piece was more about the special skills that [Mills] has and trying to figure out how to do a strategy that would be strong enough to catch him. So I was always playing with it, that was just a way of thinking.

You can see it here:

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You can find a black knight as part of the crest for 505th Military Intelligence Brigade and the 650th Military Intelligence Group. The white knight is on the logo for U.S. Army Psychological Operations. Just something to consider.

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    ok... how does this tie into the movie?
    – DForck42
    Nov 29, 2015 at 1:07
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    Agreed. Please explain how your answer relates to what the asker is seeking to know.
    – MattD
    Nov 29, 2015 at 5:16
  • @Tom is suggesting that the Dotzler character may have a military intelligence or psychops background. Jun 20, 2022 at 13:52

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