rated_tripler_superstar
A couple years after Taken came out I was in my hotel room and decided to finally give Taken a chance. I was so impressed that when I got back home I went out and bought it. If you haven't seen it watch the unrated version. More intense and better action scenes than the PG-13 version of the film.
mhmmdfahmy
I really liked this film because the film is about a father who loves his daughter and his wife even though they were separated. The father was determined to pick up her daughter who was kidnapped in French. Even this movie did not make us bored to watch it too many times because the film can make the audience carried away very full of action movie and love
Leftbanker
Yet another entry in the "Violence if Fun" series. The hilarious thing about modern cinema is that you can't kill a dog in a movie but you can murder 1,000 people and viewers won't bat an eye.This movie spawned a flood of even worse imitations so it's sort of like the new Die-hard. I can't believe how popular this is considering that it doesn't make much sense from start to finish. First of all, white slavery does exist but almost all of the women are from poor countries and are lured away by promises of jobs. Kidnapping a middle class America girl just wouldn't be a prudent venture for scumbags.Liam Neeson is a bit long in the tooth for this project, at least in my opinion. He's like 50 years old and he's constantly diving through windows or jumping off a five meter wall.Then there is the matter of how he manages to shoot and kill about 50 dudes yet he seems impervious to bullets. In one scene he jumps behind a sofa for cover. That's like a little kid hiding behind a curtain with his feet showing below. The hand-to-hand fight scenes were a mix of old kung fu movies and an 11 year old child's idea of how a fight goes down (or are those two the same thing?.
zkonedog
While watching "Taken", the first thing that crossed my mind was: "Wow, this could be the story of fictional TV character Jack Bauer's retirement years!". Considering the success of 24, suffice it to say that I mean that as a compliment and thoroughly enjoyed this film.Basically, the plot of this film centers on Liam Neeson's character, who is estranged from his daughter (played by Maggie Grace) and really has no way back into her life anymore. Though tenuous about her decision to travel to Europe for a summer with a friend, he knows that not signing the consent form will only further drive a wedge between them, so he allows it. Of course, her and the friend are immediately targeted by European slave traders and kidnapped right out of their apartment, sending Neeson into action to try and get them back. The kicker, though, is that "Neeson", now retired, was once a government agent who worked for an agency not unlike that of "CTU" of "24" fame (at least that is how it is described). As a result, Neeson actually has a fair shot at tracking down his daughter's abductors for the remainder of the movie.What really separates this movie from other action fare, though, is the character development at the very beginning. Where other pure action films (Eagle Eye comes to mind) spend just a few precious minutes to develop the characters, the entire first 30 minutes (out of only 90 total) of "Taken" really fleshes out the father-daughter relationship. This makes you the viewer root even harder for Neeson cause when his daughter is taken.The acting is also very solid, albeit in a subdued fashion (at least from Neeson). Whereas Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer emotes wildly and often, Neeson's take on "government agent" is much more simmeringly intense. We understand how badly he wants his daughter back, but he doesn't have to pitch a fit to convince us. Also, Grace ("Shannon" of LOST fame) transitions from well from small to big screen, as her innocent portrayal of a young girl also helps the audience become emotionally involved with the film.Thus, while this film is not epic in any sense of the word (hence the four-star rating), it is still very entertaining in a straight-forward sort of way by doing all the things that a good film should: developing characters, creating emotional attachments, and having enough of a plot to keep the action moving forward. If you are a fan of the "thriller" genre, please check this movie out...it may not shoot straight to the top of your "favorite movies" list, but you will also likely not be disappointed, either.
