A&E Review: Taken

March 4, 2009
By Christopher Ray
A&E Writer

Photo by 20th Century Fox Taken stars Liam Neeson as a father on a mission to save his daughter, played by Lost’s Maggie Grace.

8 out of 10 – Solid action film

“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.” - Bryan Mills

It is a treat to find a film so astutely aware of its role. Taken spends just enough time in the first act to create the slimmest of bonds and the briefest of details before diving into the juicy stuff. This is an action film. It's Metal Gear Solid mixed with a revenge story. It matches Bryan Mills played perfectly by Liam Neeson as a retired CIA agent, whose daughter is kidnapped into a sex trade while in Europe. He has 96 hours to find her and save her from the life of drugs and sexual abuse that awaits her. He throws morality to the wind, killing and torturing his way through anyone to get to her.

Coming in at about an hour and a half, the film almost seems in a hurry to get to the good stuff. The suspension of disbelief involved in any movie is tested at times in this film, but before you can realize that something unrealistic just happened it is too late; the pace picks up again and again. The film is structured like a video game at times. Who knew Liam Neeson still had it in him like this? The action took the quick disorienting cuts of Batman Begins and mixed it with the precision of A History of Violence.

It's hard to use a common scale to rate films against each other. A 10 / 10 for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not the same as a 10 / 10 for A Clockwork Orange. Taken understands its genre and position and, while it may not be terribly groundbreaking, there were many tasty spy trick treats along the way and just enough dark humor to make you chuckle. It takes the timeless idea of a parent's love for his child and shows how one talented and very motivated individual can put his talents and wit against formidable odds. The ending is to be expected and there is even a cute tie in at the end to make you smile. The film should have probably ended two minutes earlier, but I have a penchant for films that decide when to end, instead of ending where they “should.” A treat either way.