Taken

By Kate Xian
January 30, 2009

Who would have thunk it?!

Liam Neeson as an action star! Sure we've seen him as a superhero in the 1990 B comic flick Darkman and even as the strangely Asian sounding named Qui-Gon Jinn in the Star Wars saga. Let's not also forget his appearance in Batman Begins, so really his superhero status has been certified. But still....

Action star?! Neeson plays retired CIA agent who is trying to make up for lost time with his teenage daughter while trying to compete with her uber rich step-father. He also has his catty ex-wife to contend with who does her best to castrate him every time she sees him. Bryan Mills reluctantly agrees to allow their 17 year old Kim (played by season one Lost star Maggie Grace who surprisingly pulls out a convincing innocence unlike most young actresses) to go on an unsupervised trip to Paris with a friend but is soon forced out of retirement. Kim and her friend Amanda are kidnapped by sex traffickers and it is up to Bryan to recover his daughter.

Neeson has always been known to take on diverse roles and showcase a large range of acting skills, but I doubt I'm alone when I say that Neeson and "action star" are hardly synonymous. But yet...it works. Neeson played the action hero with ease, his quickness and skill at whipping out a gun or hand to hand combat is similar to that of the highly choreographed Bourne series. Though wickedly entertaining with a surprising amount of action shutzpah (unlike that of the incredibly disappointing Max Payne  one fight ain't going to cut it), the plot itself still fell short with its predictability.

Taken is one of those films that are just over mediocre and will unfortunately be quickly forgotten. As Neeson carries the weight of the film, he may not be a marquee enough of a name to bring in the box office numbers. But its straightforward, no questions are unanswered, and doesn't provoke a deep conversation of thought and speculation afterwards. The film is ultimately done well. The pace is consistent the acting is convincing, and through and through it is simply entertaining. Though the plot is mildly interesting, the characters somewhat engrossing, the action of much higher quality than most, it is ultimately worth watching for a Friday night of vegetation.

If that doesn't entice you, watching Neeson kick a lot of ass should.

Wide Release Date: January 30, 2009
Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Director: Pierre Morel
Screenplay: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Producer: Luc Besson, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, India Osborne
Executive Producer: Didier Hoarau
Music: Nathaniel Mechaly
Director of Photography: Michel Abramoqicz
Editor: Frederic Thoraval