Review of Erased (2012) by Thegodfatherson — 17 May 2013

Most people can only watch the same movie so many times. But Philipp Stölzl is clearly hopeful that when you’re done with “Taken” (and “Taken 2”), you’ll want more of the same. Should that be the case, this undistinguished but decent knockoff is ready to satisfy. Aaron Eckhart takes the Liam Neeson role as Ben Logan, a former CIA agent who lives in Brussels with his teenage daughter, Amy (Liana Liberato). He’s been working on some technology patents, but one day he shows up at the office only to find that it no longer exists. Nor, more to the point, do any of his colleagues. (Though mostly inspired by “Taken,” writer Arash Amel borrows freely from a range of thrillers, including “3 Days of the Condor” and various Bourne adventures. Soon Ben and Amy are on the run, as assassins hired by a shady corporation try to separate them, kidnap her and kill him.

Stölzl makes nice use of his Belgian locations, with each violent confrontation becoming yet another wrong turn in an increasingly lethal maze.

But, finally the film is slow paced but does chill and thrill. The thrills aren't actual thrills but still Taken 2 sucked ass in front of Erased.