Taken

Taken http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/
2008, 93 minutes.

The trailer was intriguing with the father saying to whoever has just kidnapped his daughter
"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 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". (long pause) and the kidnapper says "Good Luck." So I go to the movie. Guess what? Its a keeper.


Liam Neeson plays a retired spook who has moved to California to be closer to his 17 year old daughter, played by Maggie Grace (first two seasons of Lost. Played the young beauty whose brother died and who had a fling with Sayid before she is killed). His rigorous CIA career obviously killed his relationship to his wife, played by Famke Janssen (Jean Grey in the XMen movies and Xenia Onatopp, the evil Russian dominatrix who could crush you with her thighs in the Bond flick Goldeneye.) She has moved on and married a wealthy businessman and maintains a contentious relationship with Neeson as he tries to keep his relationship with his daughter alive. I think Janssen did a good job of playing the bitchy mom who spoils her daughter rotten because I was hoping someone would jam a grapefruit in her face. Spoiled daughter convinces world suspicious dad to sign a release allowing her to spend the summer in Paris with her friend and her friends cousins, given that she calls him as soon as she lands and calls him every night to see if she is okay. She lands in Paris, doesn't call her dad, and finds out that the cousins wont be there either as her friend lied just to make it seem more safe. Worried Dad keeps calling her until she picks up and while on the phone the kidnapping ensues. Thus begins the search for his daughter.


This is a taut roller coaster ride of a pursuit movie. Liam Neeson freaks me out because, while I love him as an actor, I did not see him as a convincing bad ass at the age of 56. He completely pulls it off. Luc Besson, who has brought us great, gritty action flicks like The Professional and La Femme Nikita, wrote the screenplay and it is fast and crackling. Shot mainly in Paris Neeson's character darts around the city drawing on all of his skills and past contacts getting to the bottom of why his daughter was taken, and finding her. I wont give away the whys and what fors, because it is an interesting and disturbing premise that surely is happening around the world.


There is one scene in this movie that demonstrates the resolve of the main character and makes this movie standout as one of the better action/intrigue movies in a long time. I think you will know it when you see it. Definitely go see it. 8 1/2 out of 10 for Taken.
One petty, annoying criticism. Maggie Grace plays the 17 year old daughter. She is 25 years old in real life. There are scenes where she is so excited and happy to receive gifts or get permission from her dad to go to France that she runs excitedly to and from people. It is such an affected run you can almost hear the director yelling "Now run like a spasticly excited 17 year old girl." To me it was so overdone that she looked like a new born colt that just got out of the stable. I told you it was petty.