Taken Reviews

A mix of action and thriller with all the weight in the first of the two. The pace is balanced nicely, the violence is dirty and gives a lot of satisfaction and the acting is average, what´s way better than expected.

It feels more like a revenge movie than a rescue one. I´ll try to explain this better: the protagonist´s only motivation is to get his daughter back and that´s great. You can feel that he doesn´t want to retaliate and he doesn´t want to shut down the bad guy´s organization, he just wants her baby back. So the main character has an strong motivation and it´s not revenge. Everything else in the movie is revenge-wise.

He goes from point a to b to c getting the needed info to do it in the simpliest way while killing bad guys until there´s no one left. Sometimes it seems like he doesnt even care about getting info from them (there are some plot holes right there but who cares?) like he did know that nothing and nobody can stop him to get to her. There are a lot of revenge moments along the way and they are all give you satisfaction and in the end he gets his sixteen year old girl back home and they wrap it up.

The look and overall feeling of the movie is very noir-oriented in a hardboiled way with lots and lots of action packed behind the shadows of paris mixed with too much hollywood sugar. Lots of hand to hand combat and good shooting scenes that doesnt feel over the top (for an action movie) except near the ending where the bullets start dodging him perhaps a bit too much. There are also some old fashioned car scenes (the chase in the construction site was brought to us from the very 90s).

The best moments are when the main character gets dirty and ruthless. Liam Neeson does a fairly good job joining the worried good-hearted father with the shooting maniac angel of death but it´s not an easy job. The first of the two elements is almost always the heaviest because he is incapable of looking really badass... he does badass stuff and kills tens of thughs but you keep seeing him as a nice guy first and foremost. That was intended, mind you, but drags the movie to lower standards. The worst elements are the softer family-issues ones, in a stereotypical movie like this at least the action is well executed but the human relations elements are shallow, lame and boring. The main character has near to no emotion credibility whatsoever so it works better when he is just killing people.

The photography is nice if conventional with good shadows work while the director gets more from the bad guys cast than usual. That´s great because the 80% of the movie the protagonist is alone against and horde of them. They add something to the movie, just enough to justify their existence before getting killed.

In the end it´s fun to watch, gives you a sense of closure and says goodbye. Neeson´s character has to get his daughter back before 96 hours pass... you will forget this movie in less than 24.

AAAAAUUUUGGGGHHH! How could Liam Neeson agree to something so fricking terrible?!?!?!

Let's try to completely ignore the fact that, once again, they speak English without any communication problems all over the world. We'll even ignore the fact that at one point, he is IN FRANCE belittling Albanians for being immigrants...in ENGLISH!

How about the rest of the plot. Dad saves girl after 72 hours of capture into a sex slave ring where her friend has died of an overdose, and the daughter is still miraculously a virgin, who requires no therapy whatsoever because apparently, they must have only drugged her friend, right?

How, exactly does the dad get on a plane and enter into the United States after killing more that a dozen men and having to escape from the French police so many damn times? Did anyone ask themselves that?

This movie was laughable. Countless times, after listening to his threatening soliloquies, I really wanted to be a voice over for one of the characters that said something like "I'm an Albanian in France...I don't SPEAK ENGLISH! If you want me to be afraid, LEARN FRENCH OR ALBANIAN!

Bryan: [to Marko] You don't remember me? We spoke on the phone two days ago. I told you I would find you.


Former spy Bryan Mills allows his daughter to take a summer away in Europe but upon her arrival she is kidnapped by a group of men. Bryan must get to Europe and save his daughter before it is to late. Bryan must use his old set of skills to get the job done and make sure his daughter returns home safetly.

Taken has all the makings for a good film but somehow along the lines it does not quite get to being an elite film. When you think about what elite films do, they make you think, the immerse you with conflict and you want to know how it will end. Taken just does not do that. Perhaps it is because Bryan walks around as if he is a one man army and takes down all challenges that stand in his way. I do not know what it is about Taken for me that stops it from becoming one of my favourites.

Bryan: You either give me what I need or this switch will stay on until they turn the power off for lack of payment on the bill.

Bryan just has this way of getting the answers to his questions. I think the whole concept should have been approached in a different way. The concept of human trafficing was a good one, which is why putting to much focus on Bryan and his world class abilities took away from the great plot concepts they were working with. To me when a film focuses squarely on one man then there is no room to notice everything that is taking place. I would have much prefered a story where they were focusing on the inner workings of the men involved with abducting these women. Perhaps a story of an undercover cop trying to gain information on these guys would have been better, with a subplot where her father is trying so desperately to get her back that he himself is willing to work with an undercover cop. I really wanted to like Taken and I did buy into the concept but the whole one man army of revenge never really satisfied me.

Taken does have flare and style with the action it produces, and I can clearly see why action fans love this film. There should have been more purely emotional drama in this film. It would have helped solidfy the whole idea of the grieving parent. Taken does keep you cheering and hoping for Bryan because what happened to his daughter is never a good thing so the filmmakers knew they could get the audience to sympathize with his situation.

When it comes down to deciding whether Taken is a good film or not you cannot help but say it is. It has good acting a good concept and it has style. The things they could improve on or work on is a matter of opinion but when looked upon as a whole film even the most skeptical of people cannot deny that Taken is atleast a good effort.

Dull, racist, cliched, sexist - yet another white man's revenge fantasy. The characters are 2 dimensional, the plot points are painfully obvious, the 'hero' is an arse. There are some films where the main character is meant to be a dick - this was not one of them. You were meant to like this characterless, selfish jerk as he went around indiscriminately shooting 'dirty foreigners' and ignoring all the trafficked women that weren't his daughter. Who cares what happened to them?

Bad and offensive. For shame.

''If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.''

A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade.

Liam Neeson: Bryan Mills

Director Pierre Morel, you have picked a rocket ship of thrilling intensity to cling upon, parnering up with Luc Besson just works every single time. I'm sad that his declaration of being finished with the director's chair may be true, however, his scripts are mounting and pumping out many action packed, entertainment laden efforts. If one can get the Transporter series to make money from its wit and smartly executed action, you know you are doing something correct. I've yet to see these two guys' first collaboration, District B13, but as far as the solid effort goes, Taken, I have one more reason to finally seek it out. Released in Europe, in recent months, and finally making its way stateside at the end of January, the tale places a retired US government preventer agent, with the Albanian captors that stole his daughter in Paris. His job ruined his marriage, strained the relationship he had with his child, yet gave him the specific skill set to get it all back. All he has to do is pulverize some very bad men, kill countless thugs and criminals, without a glimpse of remorse, and call in a few favours, while burning some old bridges in the process. Liam Neeson shows the physicality that George Lucas must have seen when casting him as a Jedi warrior, but didn't utilize or harness that power correctly. Well, Morel sure opened the floodgates and Neeson does not disappoint.

The European flair shows face right at the start with the film's opening credits. Sure the star gets top billing, but who do you ask gets second and third? That's right, the director and writers, then followed by the title. Someone understands the true creativity behind a feature film. Well, not just someone, a continent.
It's a shame that the name Luc Besson won't fill the seats by itself in America, because I'm sure if you mention alot of his filmography to a film fan and ask what they all have in common, the answer would be, "films I really connect to and enjoy". And yet the person answering probably has no idea what the common factor is allowing them to be such.

Lenore: You sacrificed our marriage to the service of the country, you've made a mess of your life in the service of your country; can't you sacrifice a little one time for your own daughter?
Bryan: I would sacrifice anything for her.

Shot with a kinetic pace, not quite Tony Scott, more Bourne Supremacy, but even slightly clearer than that, the action excites at every turn. Neeson is a man on a mission; a man with everything on the line, to find and save his daughter before the estimated 96 hours are up and she is lost forever on the black market human trafficking scheme. Friends, enemies, strangers, you name it; they are all potential targets to be shot at. Neeson's Bryan Mills is the ultimate badass working from his heart through to using his head, but only to survive, and to get one step closer to the truth. He gave it all up to rekindle a relationship with his seventeen year old, yet I'm sure never thought that the only way to do so would be to use all that training. The flip remark from Leland Orser, calling him Rambo, is more appropriate than you may think.

The supporting cast is definitely a necessity to keep the plot moving, but, in the end, it's all about Neeson moving forward and bull-rushing his way through extras. Maggie Grace can sadly get very tired, but I don't fault her as much as casting. She is a 26-year old playing 17, so her overly annoying, girlish tendencies are overblown because she is overcompensating for the age difference. Famke Janssen and Xander Berkler, are solid in small roles, while my favorite supporter is Olivier Rabourdin's Jean-Claude. Playing a French Internal Government agent, an ex-associate of Neeson, he portrays the duality of wanting to help his friend while still keeping his job and financial influx intact. He knows that whatever is uncovered in the one-man vigilante escapade could potentially harm his paycheck by exposing illegal dealings with criminals on the part of the police force, so he is never completely open. And that guardedness leads to a fantastic dinner scene.

Overall, Taken is a film not to be under estimated. It carefully addresses the subject of human trafficking which does take place in todays modern world. It also intriguingly makes cleverly placed stabs at immigration, criminality, and the scum which lurk in societies shadows. Liam Neeson's interaction, with a group of Albanians sums up the level of corruption allowed behind the lines, in a democratic country such as France. Of course, the real question being one of money, and treating girls like pieces of meat, as such a commodity.
Taken therefore doesn't just entertain, it educates, and ultimately makes you think even harder if you the viewer happens to have children of your own.
The only shame I felt about Taken was the poorly constructed ending which felt rather artificial, considering Maggie Grace fails to make us feel that this girl has even remotely been effected by this terrible ordeal. One would have thought Director Pierre Morel, may have cleverly shown a change in her character but rather we see her being ''spoiled'' again with a singing session with Holly Valance.
Everything up until this confusing conclusion, does thrill, does excite and ultimately does makes us think and root for Liam. Again a story in which one man takes on corruption all by himself is admirable and certainly courageous. Taken is definitely a pleasure for action fans and fans of thrillers alike.

''You come to this country, take advantage of the system and think because we are tolerant that we are weak and helpless. Your arrogance offends me. And for that the rate just went up 10%.''

"Taken" is a hard hitting, action packed thrill ride, that will be sure to have you wanting more.

Bryan Mills (Neeson) is forced to rely on former skills as an agent when his daughter is kidnapped in Paris by a group of foreign criminals. This film is alike certain films, but more like the Bourne series. I noticed a lot of similarities along the way. The fighting styles, fast paced camera movement, chases, and just the overall look of the characters. If your looking for in depth/Oscar winning picture, you won't find it here. This is most definitely for the thrills and entertainment. That's not going to say it has no story, because it certainly does.

There wasn't anything visibly wrong with this film. It did what it set out to do: entertain people with non stop action. It kept me entertained for the duration, and I was impressed.

If I come across another action film this year, that even comes close to this, I will be surprised. This is easily one of the best action movies of the decade.

9.5/10

Liam Neeson stars in Pierre Morel's very fast moving film which is written by Luc Besson(Leon, The Proffesional) and Robert Mark Kamen(the Transporter 3). Nesson plays Bryan Mills a former spy who is very good at what he used to do. Although not much is mentioned about his former duty. He proves his point with the no- nonsense attitude to make James Bond even smirk . "I'll tear down the Goddamn ifiel tower if i have to" is one line to tell you just how motivated mills is in getting his daughter/brat kim (maggie Grace) back. THe film opens with a short home video of kim when she was in her early years, as a child. however and unlike Death sentence the film quickly moves through this little bit. When Kim decides she wants to go to paris with her best rich friend amanda (Katie cassidy) does Mills start to think right then and there that it's a bad idea to begin with. However Kim can't go until Mills signs a waiver saying she can leave the country. and as easy as any action film goes he signs the waiver. knowing very well what will happen to her. This rare type of action is very smart but does have just enough story to acutally make it work. THe chase scenes in this film or anything in which mills is driving a vehicle will make jason Bounrne rethink how quickly he destroys his vehicles where as mills doesn't even put a scratch on any of his even though he's driving thorugh buildings and flipping other cars. if you like mindless action and not a whole lot of plot "taken" is highly reccomended.

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let me daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Taken is an invigorating, exciting, feverishly-paced action flick, and one of the most overlooked and underappreciated screen gems of 2008. It's thrilling, tightly-told, energetic, utterly relentless, and consummately entertaining. Adhering to the current trend of contemporary action movies (such as the Jason Bourne series), Taken is a film that employs gritty realism in its amazing action sequences. It also portrays a badass, greatly skilled protagonist distributing punishment to those who deserve it. This is unquestionably one of 2008's best action movies (alongside Rambo). It succeeds so admirably on account of its shameless stance as a pure actioner; ingeniously eschewing elaborate plot twists in favour of adrenaline-pumping action and fast-paced developments. It ensnares you in its (admittedly slender) plot following necessary character development...allowing little respite in its build-up to an incredible climax.

The plot is derived from the concept of human trafficking which has become a major issue in today's society. This issue is used as a foundation on which to construct a revenge-driven, fast-paced action thriller.
Bryan Mills (Neeson) is a former United States government operative. Now retired and separated from his estranged family, the desolate and emotionally sheepish divorced father is working towards a more solid relationship with daughter Kim (Grace) who now resides with her mother (Janssen) and rich step-father (Berkeley). Bryan has developed into a particularly overprotective father given that his career made him more vigilant, and he is hesitant when his daughter requests his permission to travel to Paris with a friend. Despite his initial scepticism, he eventually allows the trip to proceed. Soon following their arrival in Paris, Kim and her friend are kidnapped, and will most likely be sold into the slave trade. Bryan - who describes himself as "retired, not dead" - employs the skills he acquired in his former career as an assassin to rescue his daughter...leaving a shadow of carnage and corpses in his wake.

"It's a flesh wound. But if you don't get me what I need, the last thing you'll see before I make your children orphans is the bullet I put between her eyes."

Taken is an action movie that effectively draws inspiration from Death Wish and Man on Fire, with traces of the Bourne series as well. For the most part, the film is largely clichéd and formulaic. It doesn't matter that the thin story is painfully predictable and occasionally unoriginal (Commando, anyone?), because - as with any action flick - it's all about the execution. Taken delivers hard-hitting, bone-crunching action sequences. Exhilarating car chases and shootouts are the notable highlights, which satisfyingly compensate for the lack of originality. In terms of violence, the film is unflinching. Bryan's victims regularly meet with terrifying ends. Pierre Morel's intuitive and astute direction is spot-on. The violence is never over-the-top, and the bloodshed never exudes any trace of exploitation. Bad guys are dispatched, and Bryan immediately advances to his next victim. The action is drenched in realism - they're filled with impressively choreographed close combat conflicts and first-rate stunts. These sequences are always kept electrifying and concise. Director Morel utilises the dreaded plague of quick cuts and rapid editing; however he's graceful enough to ensure an audience always knows what's happening. The thunderous, dynamic sound mix also effectively conveys the viciousness of each punch and the sharp crack of every gunshot.

Driving the film is a sublime screenplay penned by Luc Besson with his Transporter collaborator Robert Mark Kamen. Besson is perhaps best known for his 1994 film Léon (also known as The Professional). Revenge movies are tricky beasts to master without deteriorating into bullshit territory. There are numerous clichés pervading the film. Nevertheless, the screenwriting duo commendably manages to circumvent the more obvious clichés. For instance: characters aren't ever treated with any sentimentality, and when the central villains enter the picture there are no absurdly lengthy speeches or special deaths...Neeson instead just pulls the trigger or cleverly improvises with surrounding objects. Even better, the action begins once a story has been established. There's effective character development before the descent into violence and carnage initiates. For its first 20 minutes, Taken is almost a family drama. The script delves into Bryan's private life, providing the audience with an emotional attachment to the characters. Bryan is also an excellently unconventional anti-hero. During his investigation he comes across several additional drugged-up teenage prostitutes. Instead of playing big hero and rescuing them all in a stroke of nobility, he sticks to his personal mission. The film couldn't afford to get bogged down, and it never does.

"That is what happens when you sit behind a desk. You forget things, like the weight in the hand of a gun that's loaded and one that's not."

For the most part, the acting is top notch. Liam Neeson has found his calling as an action hero. We've seen him in Star Wars and 2005's Batman Begins, but he quickly masters this particular character. The American accent is surprisingly believable as well. Even at 56, Neeson is an ass-kicking hero who can certainly dispatch his intended targets efficiently.
Famke Janssen is passable as Neeson's estranged wife, and Maggie Grace delivers a convincing performance as Neeson's kidnapped daughter. Her role called for depth, and the young actress pulls it off. The villains, though slightly stereotyped, are terrific as well. Even Holly Valance shows up in a supporting role, and she does a decent job.

It's worth noting that, while the film isn't a preachy social commentary, it capably spreads awareness of global happenings in relation to the human slave trade as young girls are sold into prostitution while the police let it happen. (In fact the film encouraged actress Famke Janssen to take action in the real battle against corruption. Janssen now serves as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime.) With this realistic edge the story is far easier to believe.

Regardless of the negative reviews it was compelled to endure, Taken is a thrilling film - one of 2008's greatest action movies. Saturated with intense action, credible characters and a realistic story, this is simply an essential movie for the action lovers. Many have classified the film as The Bourne Retirement, and that's understandable. Neeson's aging action hero persona is equally as skilled as Matt Damon's Jason Bourne. Taken is a stimulating, breathtaking action movie that deserves to be seen. Granted, there are dumb bad guys and cheesy dialogue...but the action is highly satisfying. Face it; that's why you wanted to see the film in the first place. You seek pure entertainment with action aplenty, you want to see villains getting their comeuppance, you want to be rooting for the hero and you want to be cheering when something badass occurs. On that note, Taken delivers. It's a shameless, enjoyable pure actioner and a powerhouse, roller-coaster action flick of enlivening proportions.

"You don't remember me? We spoke on the phone two days ago. I told you I would find you."

8.0/10