Review of Taken (2004) by Per Gunnar J — 08 Mar 2013

This is a very good action/thriller flick. It currently holds a 7.9 rating at IMDb which it certainly deserves. The few people giving this a 1 or 2 star rating must be disgruntled French people who do not like to see the French government officials portrayed as corrupt bastards (which they often are anyway).

I generally like Liam Neeson so the fact that he is in the movie kind of got the movie off to a good start already. In this movie he plays a real badass, I-kick-the-shit-out-of-anyone-standing-in-my-way, former CIA agent hunting down the despicable low-life that kidnapped his daughter. I really, really liked the role he played in this movie. He makes characters like Bourne look like wussy. Even I was surprised when he actually shot the wife of the corrupt French government bastard to get him to talk. That was just awesome.

The movie is pretty much action all the way. Well, it starts off laying the groundwork for the story and here Liam Neeson is indeed playing a fairly timid father that seems to be a bit out of his depth. Once he gets thrown into his right element he quickly casts of the sheep's fur and reveals the wolf (sabre-toothed) underneath.

This is really a textbook action/thriller movie. A very enjoyable hour and a half indeed.