Taken

5

RayzorMooseNov 16, 2013

Taken doesn't bring much to the table.
The movie is paced well, the story if fine, and the action is lackluster. It mainly is plagued with an extremely simple plot combined with a very predictable outcome. An okay action flick.

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5

vikesh2206Nov 11, 2014

Despite being an implausible brainless ride throughout, Taken is a slightly above par action thriller made better from a solid performance by Liam Neeson.

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5

MrMovieBuffMay 31, 2016

A brutal security guard's daughter gets kidnapped while on a trip to Paris in 'Taken', the intense action thriller starring Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA field operative, who is reluctant when his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) plansA brutal security guard's daughter gets kidnapped while on a trip to Paris in 'Taken', the intense action thriller starring Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA field operative, who is reluctant when his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) plans on going to France with just her best friend. Kim is only 17 years old, and the idea of a teenager going abroad unsupervised can be troubling for a parent.

Bryan is convinced after a while, however, and he decides to let her go to France. He and his ex-wife, Lennie (Famke Janssen) seem to have a difference in opinion, coming from a CIA background, he is overprotective for his daughter, but Lennie insists that Kim should be independent and make her own decisions. Sometimes, as a parent, you have to learn to let go.

One day, at the hotel, Kim does get kidnapped while calling her father, along with her friend by a group of violent sex traffickers. Bryan does what he can to travel to France, and track down the thugs who kidnapped both her and her friend. He ends up talking to one of the thugs via the phone, and tries to recognize the voice.

As he arrives in France, as you would expect from this movie to deliver, there is a lot of scenes where Neeson's character is killing people left, right and center. I can say that it doesn't fail to entertain as it does deliver its promise to show us this one character just going around murdering people he assumed was involved in the kidnapping of his daughter. The violence is also brutal, but at times, unfocused. The camerawork seems to lack showing a further emphasis of the action, and at times, it can make anyone a little dizzy amidst all the drama going on.

Overall, this is a dark film, but at times, it feels ineffective, the characters here seem to lack some sort of empathy, and it gets to the point where you wind up just not caring for anyone. No matter how much the tension rises, the interest in me seems to deteriorate over time. The movie's plot never loses focus, but the action and characters seem to wear off as the run time goes on.

At the end of the day, it's an okay action movie...but there are better alternatives out there...even if it is the classic 'Die Hard' (1988).… Expand

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5

MovieMasterEddyApr 3, 2016

Liam Neeson makes a surprisingly convincing one-man mean machine in "Taken."

Onetime Langley grunt Bryan Mills (Neeson) has moved to Los Angeles to be near his spoiled 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), now embedded in a world ofLiam Neeson makes a surprisingly convincing one-man mean machine in "Taken."

Onetime Langley grunt Bryan Mills (Neeson) has moved to Los Angeles to be near his spoiled 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), now embedded in a world of luxury since his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) married rich businessman Stuart (Xander Berkeley). When some ex-CIA pals offer him a night’s work bodyguarding a singer (Holly Valance), it’s clear Bryan has lost none of his Jason Bourne-like skills when he saves the diva from an attempted slaying.

Under pressure from Lenore, Bryan reluctantly agrees to let Kim go on a Euro trip with schoolfriend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). But when both girls are kidnapped by evil Albanians within minutes of their arrival, Bryan hops one of Stuart’s private jets to Paris to find her. He reckons he has 96 hours before Kim ends up a drug-addicted lump of white meat.

Besson alum Pierre Morel, who was d.p. on “The Transporter” and previously helmed 2004’s futuristic actioner “District B13,” wisely doesn’t give the viewer any time to ponder the string of unlikely coincidences in the script by Besson and regular scribe Robert Mark Kamen. From the actual kidnapping — breathlessly staged with Kim actually on the phone with dad — to Bryan arriving in Paris and immediately causing a pileup outside the airport, pic has the forward, devil-may-care momentum of a Bond movie on steroids.

With grudging help from former French intelligence op Jean-Claude (Olivier Rabourdin) and an Albanian translator (Goran Kostic), Bryan discovers and then trashes the baddies’ ramshackle brothel prior to tracking down kidnapper Marko (Arben Bajraktaraj) and his gang. He then learns Kim has been sold in a high-class auction arranged by a certain Patrice St. Clair (Gerard Watkins) for — natch! — Arab clients.

Interventionist politics of the movie, which plays like “Rambo in Paris,” hardly bear thinking about, but Neeson growls his way through the functional dialogue as an unstoppable killing machine in impressive, cold-eyed style. For a thesp now in his mid-50s, he handles the niftily edited, bone-crunching action way better than his scenes as a sappy, devoted father. Other thesps simply register as evil gun-fodder or script cutouts (including a wasted Janssen), with only Rabourdin suggesting anything like a real character.

Widescreen package is technically slick at all levels, and ditto the action choreography, in a cartoonish way.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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5

royalguy07Aug 12, 2022

The famous line is famous and well deservedly. The action is a little too generic and way under the level I was expecting. The messaging is wild, all foreigners are bad??

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4

TonyB.Jul 27, 2009

You won't be bored for a minute, but you won't believe a minute of it.

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4

ChadAJan 21, 2010

A typical basic action movie Basic plot(predictable) and basic scenes(car chases, gun fights) The action scenes are too weak and boring This film is just typical and will suit the typical person and the typical action junkie Too bad my A typical basic action movie Basic plot(predictable) and basic scenes(car chases, gun fights) The action scenes are too weak and boring This film is just typical and will suit the typical person and the typical action junkie Too bad my tastes are too high… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

4

JakekFeb 17, 2009

Slick production. Pretty to look at. Otherwise, illogical plot and action, terrible script [what happened to Neeson's team of pros], unbearable female lead [Maggie Grace], and cardboard actors and actresses. Final analysis: stupid movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

4

kgm.Jan 31, 2009

The most shocking thing in this movie is how it

0 of 3 users found this helpful

4

JacobMar 20, 2015

Taken shows Liam Nesson as a bad-ass, intelligent killing machine. While seeing Liam Nesson use his super skills to track down his daughter while killing lots of people may be enough to dazzle some it wasn’t enough for me. Even with theTaken shows Liam Nesson as a bad-ass, intelligent killing machine. While seeing Liam Nesson use his super skills to track down his daughter while killing lots of people may be enough to dazzle some it wasn’t enough for me. Even with the action flowing along with the way it did, there were wasn’t enough reason for me to care. The characters are never fleshed out and the fact that this conflict was started due to the generic father daughter argument cliché we’ve seen a million times, although this time as opposed to films like The Little Mermaid he’s actually right, along with the dumb blonde cliché, which what do you think is going to happen. The score is nothing memorable and its hard to enjoy the action due to the rapid cuts in editing and shaky cam which makes it hard for any sort of spatial continuity to be established so I never know whose fighting what. Action movies can be fun but due to failures in story, characters, and filming action scenes I didn’t care. Liam Nesson being smart and killing people can only do so much.… Expand

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4

ScorpionMay 28, 2013

The initial idea was good, a father who does everything to save her daughter, but in practice the film becomes more of a blogbuster summer with cliches mostruosos the Bourne trilogy, and an excess of unnecessary violence.

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4

MovieManiac83Apr 22, 2015

The risible thriller Taken has a message for overprotective fathers everywhere: Don't let your teenage daughter go overseas. She's almost certain to be abducted by Albanian sex traffickers. After reluctantly agreeing to allow his spoiledThe risible thriller Taken has a message for overprotective fathers everywhere: Don't let your teenage daughter go overseas. She's almost certain to be abducted by Albanian sex traffickers. After reluctantly agreeing to allow his spoiled 17-year-old (Maggie Grace) to spend the summer in Paris with a friend, ex-spy and estranged single father Liam Neeson braces himself for the inevitable the moment she passes through airport security. (He even takes a photo for posterity, knowing it could be the last time he ever sees her.) Back at his apartment, he waits and waits and waits for her to call. When she finally does, in distress over three men invading her Paris flat, Neeson is right there with a briefcase full of high-tech recording equipment, giving her instructions. Apparently, he's been keeping the case around as his personal "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency Involving Albanian Sex Traffickers" safeguard.

Neeson's readiness for worst-case scenarios—and screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen's proficiency in queuing them up—fuels the high-octane lunacy of Taken, which is a little like Paul Schrader's Hardcore retooled as a Steven Seagal vehicle. Having a thespian of Neeson's caliber chopping down burly henchmen with his bare hands creates a pleasant cognitive dissonance for a while, but the film is unworthy of him. Director Pierre Morel also collaborated with Besson on the far more entertaining District B13, but Taken's subject matter is too serious for an escapist chop-socky movie, and the sleazy, exploitative tone undercuts the thrills. Where Hardcore muddied the waters by questioning how far George C. Scott would take his odyssey into the porn underworld, and at what cost to his soul—Taken never doubts Neeson's righteousness, even when he's torturing a bad guy with electrical wire or clipping a perfectly innocent woman in the arm just to get information. He's a thug, and though it takes some time to see past the sensitive Neeson of Schindler's List or Husbands And Wives, he slips all too easily into the role.… Expand

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4

moviemayhemApr 28, 2015

The risible thriller Taken has a message for overprotective fathers everywhere: Don't let your teenage daughter go overseas. She's almost certain to be abducted by Albanian sex traffickers. After reluctantly agreeing to allow his spoiledThe risible thriller Taken has a message for overprotective fathers everywhere: Don't let your teenage daughter go overseas. She's almost certain to be abducted by Albanian sex traffickers. After reluctantly agreeing to allow his spoiled 17-year-old (Maggie Grace) to spend the summer in Paris with a friend, ex-spy and estranged single father Liam Neeson braces himself for the inevitable the moment she passes through airport security. (He even takes a photo for posterity, knowing it could be the last time he ever sees her.) Back at his apartment, he waits and waits and waits for her to call. When she finally does, in distress over three men invading her Paris flat, Neeson is right there with a briefcase full of high-tech recording equipment, giving her instructions. Apparently, he's been keeping the case around as his personal "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency Involving Albanian Sex Traffickers" safeguard.

Neeson's readiness for worst-case scenarios—and screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen's proficiency in queuing them up—fuels the high-octane lunacy of Taken, which is a little like Paul Schrader's Hardcore retooled as a Steven Seagal vehicle. Having a thespian of Neeson's caliber chopping down burly henchmen with his bare hands creates a pleasant cognitive dissonance for a while, but the film is unworthy of him. Director Pierre Morel also collaborated with Besson on the far more entertaining District B13, but Taken's subject matter is too serious for an escapist chop-socky movie, and the sleazy, exploitative tone undercuts the thrills. Where Hardcore muddied the waters by questioning how far George C. Scott would take his odyssey into the porn underworld, and at what cost to his soul—Taken never doubts Neeson's righteousness, even when he's torturing a bad guy with electrical wire or clipping a perfectly innocent woman in the arm just to get information. He's a thug, and though it takes some time to see past the sensitive Neeson of Schindler's List or Husbands And Wives, he slips all too easily into the role.… Expand

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4

ReelViews94Mar 23, 2016

The risible thriller Taken has a message for overprotective fathers everywhere: Don't let your teenage daughter go overseas. She's almost certain to be abducted by Albanian sex traffickers. After reluctantly agreeing to allow his spoiledThe risible thriller Taken has a message for overprotective fathers everywhere: Don't let your teenage daughter go overseas. She's almost certain to be abducted by Albanian sex traffickers. After reluctantly agreeing to allow his spoiled 17-year-old (Maggie Grace) to spend the summer in Paris with a friend, ex-spy and estranged single father Liam Neeson braces himself for the inevitable the moment she passes through airport security. (He even takes a photo for posterity, knowing it could be the last time he ever sees her.) Back at his apartment, he waits and waits and waits for her to call. When she finally does, in distress over three men invading her Paris flat, Neeson is right there with a briefcase full of high-tech recording equipment, giving her instructions. Apparently, he's been keeping the case around as his personal "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency Involving Albanian Sex Traffickers" safeguard.

Neeson's readiness for worst-case scenarios—and screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen's proficiency in queuing them up—fuels the high-octane lunacy of Taken, which is a little like Paul Schrader's Hardcore retooled as a Steven Seagal vehicle. Having a thespian of Neeson's caliber chopping down burly henchmen with his bare hands creates a pleasant cognitive dissonance for a while, but the film is unworthy of him. Director Pierre Morel also collaborated with Besson on the far more entertaining District B13, but Taken's subject matter is too serious for an escapist chop-socky movie, and the sleazy, exploitative tone undercuts the thrills. Where Hardcore muddied the waters by questioning how far George C. Scott would take his odyssey into the porn underworld, and at what cost to his soul—Taken never doubts Neeson's righteousness, even when he's torturing a bad guy with electrical wire or clipping a perfectly innocent woman in the arm just to get information. He's a thug, and though it takes some time to see past the sensitive Neeson of Schindler's List or Husbands And Wives, he slips all too easily into the role.… Expand

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3

YInksMerlynFeb 4, 2009

This movie is utter garbage, now i knw why d name "liam neeson" rang no bells..."Taken" definitli topped mi list of crappiest movies of 2008.i mean seriosly,i was nt d list bit thrilled...nd d 1 liners "this is nt a threat,wen i get u it willThis movie is utter garbage, now i knw why d name "liam neeson" rang no bells..."Taken" definitli topped mi list of crappiest movies of 2008.i mean seriosly,i was nt d list bit thrilled...nd d 1 liners "this is nt a threat,wen i get u it will b very slow nd it will hurt".(wit unbelievable sarcasm)..oh no plzz,im so scared,im literally shaken in my boots....wat a joke.HORRIBLE ACTING,Avoid dis movie… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

3

markrMay 12, 2009

It's passable. You know the movies where 10 bad guys are shooting at the hero and nobody hits him? That's this one. Repeatedly. How bout the movie where everyone tries to kill the hero, then just when they got him, they tie him up, It's passable. You know the movies where 10 bad guys are shooting at the hero and nobody hits him? That's this one. Repeatedly. How bout the movie where everyone tries to kill the hero, then just when they got him, they tie him up, wait till he wakes up, says some fancy words, and then say "kill him!". Yep. Got that too. Watch one of the Bourne movies again instead. They're much better.… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful

3

ScottMar 15, 2009

There were about 3 good minutes in this otherwise awful, derivative movie. Wait until it hits cable.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

3

mowinoNov 30, 2013

I saw it last year and I still don't see the hype with this film. A father trying to find his daughter somehow turns into an action epic. Reallly???????????? Don't even get me started on 2

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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2

DomoFeb 16, 2009

I like Liam Neeson. I like Luc Besson. I even like Pierre Morel and thought his District B13 was great fun. But this? No, not so much. "I'll tear down the Eiffel Tower if I have to" and such dialogue was worse than any fingernails on I like Liam Neeson. I like Luc Besson. I even like Pierre Morel and thought his District B13 was great fun. But this? No, not so much. "I'll tear down the Eiffel Tower if I have to" and such dialogue was worse than any fingernails on the chalkboard and the ignorant xenophobia that's framed as paternal love is so ridiculous it hurt. Had they played up the camp aspect of all this crap it might have been more enjoyable. As it is, it just plays to the myopic Middle American mindset that equates "foreign" with "evil", shows an older actor pathetically attempting … Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

2

BobK.Feb 9, 2009

"Taken" is an insult to the intelligence of the viewers and the star of the movie. The action sequences are just as unbelievable as the other events in the script.

1 of 2 users found this helpful

2

RaySApr 18, 2009

Taken produced by same French team that made the Transporter flicks, Clueless mother lets her daughter go on a trip to Europe with only another girl who just supposedly turned 18. They get kidnapped by an Albanian ring who specialize in Taken produced by same French team that made the Transporter flicks, Clueless mother lets her daughter go on a trip to Europe with only another girl who just supposedly turned 18. They get kidnapped by an Albanian ring who specialize in white slavery, etc. Liam Neeson, the father, is an ex some kind of special op's for the government. In other words, he knows how to kick ass. He goes over to Paris and proceeds to become a one man Albanian but kicking crew. I believe he kills or maims half the Albanians in Paris before he gets his daughter back! If you have ever seen Mystery Science Theater, with the wise ass robot making fun of the proceedings , then that was I watching this flick. Neeson does a great acting job keeping a straight face throughout. Lots of silly action and over the top fighting and violence. Give it a 2 for the amusement factor.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

2

xLAWxMay 27, 2009

Not a realistic movie, the old agent taking on the whole gang is impossible for me. A boring plot.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

1

someonewatchingFeb 25, 2009

Liam is a cheater he set it to god-mode , killed them all, and got his daughter back.. well just another crap and wasted time watching it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

1

ChrisWMar 17, 2009

Utterly and completely awful. Taken trips along, fueled only by Liam Neeson's passable performance. To say Neeomson's performance is anything but aweful is to say a lot though seeing as the script was like that of a D grade Utterly and completely awful. Taken trips along, fueled only by Liam Neeson's passable performance. To say Neeomson's performance is anything but aweful is to say a lot though seeing as the script was like that of a D grade straight to DVD thriller. More disturbing still was the definite xenophobic vibe that oozes from this peice of tripe. If the Bourne movies (which I actually quite admire) and Hostel were to meet and produce an ungodly bastard child, he would resemble this.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful

1

nathan737Sep 26, 2012

This movie was long and drawn out, Taken's plot used several cliches and had several awkward moments. Taken was painful to watch.The movie is boring and doesn't get engaging until the end.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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1

OrctownorcOct 4, 2012

Taken represents a wierd oblique encouragement for western authorities to 'take the gloves off' when dealing with middle eastern threats, represented here by Albanian slave traders with a crescent moon tattoos. The other enemies, of courseTaken represents a wierd oblique encouragement for western authorities to 'take the gloves off' when dealing with middle eastern threats, represented here by Albanian slave traders with a crescent moon tattoos. The other enemies, of course are the corrupt, and decadent French, who for some sin or other are characterised as ammoral devils who would turn a blind eye on western girls being sold into sexual servitude for just a few Euros. Somewhat wierd for a movie that cites a Frenchman in its production. Sadly fact is usually more amazing than fantasy and this movie is no exception. Something based on the real plight of Eastern European women being sold into forced prostitution could have been far more compelling. This movie soon degenerates into a sadistic tirade of the hero beating up and killing dozens of run-of-the mill bad guys. The movie has no pauses, no moments of realisation, nothing interesting or scary. No good dialogue, nothing but the celebration of the killing prowess of a professional killer. Liam Neesen dials in a very unenthusiastic performance looking very much like an actor who lost his wife in a skiing accident, with no interest in the slightest in making a movie glorifying murder, going through the motions because he will get a paycheck so that he can go back and spend quality time trying to live as happily as he can in the shadow of his loss. As far as I can see the whole thing is some kind of propaganda effort trying to reinforce negative stereotypes. The action is the same crap you see in almost every American movie these days. Fight scenes where the hero is good at ramming random household objects up the noses and into the brains of certified 100% guaranteed 'bad guys' who deserved to die. The audience is thus invited to relish and glorify a whole bunch of romantically enhanced butchery, and feel great when the good duy inevitably walks into the sunset, without even bruised knuckles. Since practically everything made in America is made to exactly the same recipe, taken is your standard contemporary American garbage with a Frenchman embarrassing himself in the credits. I'm sure Albanian slave traders are very nasty indeed. A movie that dealt into the hows and whys of that would have been much better than this crap. Don't movie makers understand that incessant violence dilutes the dramatic power of violence. The fear of death is worse than death. There are a thousand creative cliches that advice film makers on what constitutes narrative power. All yellow and red reviews indicate signs of intelligence. Green constitute the mob. Fools all.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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1

ascoltami86May 20, 2013

It's horrible, too unrealistic. Weak guys are always dumb, die stupid. Protagonist always wins the battle easily. I hate it.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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0

MikeJun 8, 2009

Laughable action sequences, laughable story. avoid at all costs!

1 of 3 users found this helpful

0

Mr.AnonMar 3, 2009

The most xenophobic movie I've ever had the misfortune to see. There is one part where he shoots a person for being French, how does this get released?

1 of 2 users found this helpful

0

BCMay 30, 2009

I don't even know where to begin...this movie is such a complete paint-by-numbers formula movie. Vacuous teen daughter played by a mid-twenties actress - CHECK; phony family situation where Dad has had life pass him by to only now I don't even know where to begin...this movie is such a complete paint-by-numbers formula movie. Vacuous teen daughter played by a mid-twenties actress - CHECK; phony family situation where Dad has had life pass him by to only now realize it - CHECK; Director that uses shifty camera work to conceal poor chase and fight scenes - CHECK ; How sad and pathetic and what a complete waste of time. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME...run for your life..save yourselves.… Expand

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Taken

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