Taken – A Movie Review
Former government operative Bryan Mills begins the longest 96-hours of his life–and the hunt for the fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim. Mills had only recently given up his government career as what he calls a “preventer” to be near Kim, who lives with Bryan’s ex-wife Lenore and her new husband. To make ends meet, Bryan joins some former colleagues for special security details (like guarding a pop diva), but most of his time and energy are spent re-connecting with Kim. Bryan’s familial goal is nearly derailed when Kim requests his permission to spend time in Paris with a friend. All too aware of the dangers that could lie ahead for Kim in a foreign land, Bryan says no, but Kim’s disappointment leads him to very reluctantly relent. Bryan’s worst fears are realized when Kim and her friend Amanda are suddenly abducted–in broad daylight–from the Paris apartment at which they’ve just arrived. Moments before Kim is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone Bryan, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Paris’s underworld, and to the City of Light’s plushest mansions. He will face nightmares worse than anything he experienced in black ops–and let nothing and no one stop him from saving his daughter.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign, Drama and Thriller; Running Time: 1 hr. 34 min.; Release Date: January 30th, 2009 (wide); MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Anjul Nigam, Jon Gries
Directed by: Pierre Morel
We watched this movie on DVD last night. Liam Neeson, as “Bryan Mills,” reminded me of Denzel Washington’s role in “Man On Fire.” In that film, Washington played a relentless-and-brutal bodyguard who did what he had to do to get kidnapped Dakota Fanning back to her parents.
[spoiler]Here, Neeson does the same to get his daughter “Kim” back from kidnappers/sex trade slime-balls. An ex-professional killer in retirement, “Bryan” travels to Paris and shows the bad guys who they’re messing with! Neeson is very good in here.[/spoiler]
Yeah, it’s a little far-fetched but it’s a fun hour-and-a-half that’s guaranteed to entertain and a no-nonsense, classic shoot-first film. Beware, this is another “shaky” hand-held camera deal on the action scenes, which can be tough on your eyes at times.
Some have called this movie “non-stop action.” It’s not. This movie starts slowly and builds up. It’s the last half hour that’s non-stop violence.Expect holes in the screen play and improbable happenings, but, if this your kind of movie, it’s probably worth a watch. James Bond it ain’t, but I didn’t feel cheated.
(2 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
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