Taken does not venture into unchartered territory.  The premise has been done in Hollywood more than once.  You have a typical highly trained father whose child is abducted by bad characters.  The film Ransom came to mind in terms of similar films.  Takenelevates this concept to a whole new level.  CIA operatives, international espionage and a high stakes multi-national slave trade market increase the stakes in this interesting film.

Taken begins with a retired CIA agent (Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson), who has moved to California to be closer to his daughter.  The backstory of Neeson's strained relationship with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) is captured through Mills' recollections of past birthdays.  Mills wants to reconnect with his daughter, but the amount of time the CIA kept him away from his family makes him more of a signatory than a father.  Reluctantly, Neeson agrees to sign a release to allow Kim (who is seventeen) to travel to Europe with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy).  The only condition is that Kim bring along a cell phone and check in regularly with her father.

Upon arriving in France, Amanda and Kim are met at the taxi stand by Peter (Nicolaus Giraud) who is actually a scout for an Albanian sex slave ring operating in Paris.  Peter shares a cab to the girl's address in Paris, providing the information to the Albanians.  The sex slave traders shortly arrive at the location and kidnap the girls.  Kim manages to get a quick call out to Mills, who quickly kicks into CIA mode.  Mills uses his extensive contacts to begin tracking down the abductors, leaving a trail of carnage and destruction in his wake.  It is a race against time as Mills attempts to react within the 96 hour window his CIA contacts advise he has to respond.

Taken requires suspension of all belief.  If you go into this film expecting anything remotely resembling reality you will be disappointed.  This is a big Hollywood film replete with massive explosions and unlimited firepower.  Given the exaggerated nature of the film, the writing is more a product of inter-personal relationships, dialogue and character development.  The character development was a mixed bag, with Mills' character exhibiting the most depth.  I was surprised at some of the actions taken by Mills during the film, but those actions did not contradict the personality traits assigned to this character.  Lenore was a bit flat and predictable.  As with most films of this nature, the bad guys were also one-dimensional.  The relationships between the characters were plausible, creating the right set of circumstances to make the plot concept work.  The dialogue was hackneyed at times, but enjoyable nonetheless.  As a whole, the writing was mixed.  Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen took an interesting concept and developed a workable script that was entertaining if nothing else.

Selecting Liam Neeson for the starring role was a good choice.  Neeson brings an intensity to his performance that makes him credible as an enraged father with the deadly skills needed to create complete and utter chaos throughout Paris.  Neeson's performance was brilliant.  He was fun to watch.  Lenore was a flat character, the depth that was visible in this character was a product of the acting skills of Famke Janssen.  Her performance made a mediocre character better.  The cast was made up of many smaller parts, with Neeson carrying the major role.  These smaller parts had little opportunity to shine (or fail as the case may be).  One noteworthy actor in a minor role was Olivier Rabourdin as Jean Claude Pitrel of French Intelligence.  As a whole, the acting was excellent.

Taken is typical big budget Hollywood.  The forty-five million dollar price tag doesn't put it in the same league as films like Titanic or the recently released Defiance, but the budget allowed for plenty of destruction.  The budget appeared to be heavily invested in special effects, which created a lot of adrenaline.  The special effects were well orchestrated with some interesting car chases and plenty of shoot-outs.  The illusions created in this film were well constructed, making the backgrounds believable.

One issue I had with the credibility of Taken was the way Mills reacted in certain circumstances.  There is a concept known as the "fatal funnel" which relates to areas where firepower is concentrated and unlikely to miss.  These areas would include doorways and hallways.  Automatic weapons fire in a hallway would inevitably hit anything of size contained within that hallway.  Yet Mills appeared to navigate these deadly zones in a hail of automatic weapons fire unscathed.  Another issue is the concept of superior fire power.  If you disarm an individual who is holding a loaded MP-5 and you are likely to face other equally armed individuals...you might consider trading up from your small handgun.  A fairly simple assumption that did not seem to occur to those who choreographed the gun fights.  One other plot issue I had involved the use of a spotter at the airport, followed by a home invasion abduction.  It seems more likely to me that a low risk abduction would be one that happened on the way back from the airport or at a subsequent meeting.  Rather than invading a home inside an apartment building with witnesses and possible occupants, it would have been more plausible to go with the plot line of having the girls attend a party at which they are drugged only to awaken in an unfamiliar place.  These are just a few of the credibility items that nagged at me.  The idea that a US National could enter Paris and wreak complete havoc without creating an international incident still baffles me.  So...do not watch this film if you are going to get hung up on credibility issues.

Taken was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.  This is a film where I would probably agree pretty closely with the rating.  PG-13 normally indicates that there is not much objectionable material.  However, this film deals with the sex slave trade, which is a very deep and very real issue.  The thematic material might be difficult for younger viewers.  There is plenty of strong language and lots of violence.  I stopped counting bodies after about a dozen.  Lots of people die in this movie.  It borders on war movie violence, which normally earns an R rating.  I would suggest that viewers of this film meet the 13 year old recommendation (or close to it).

I thought Taken took an interesting look at an idea that has been done before.  The concept dealt with timely issues in the real world, combined with up-to-date technology.  The concept was excellent, although over the top on the reality scale.  The big heart-pumping special effects were fun to watch even if they provide mindless entertainment.  This isn't a film that provokes thought or discussion. It is nothing more explosions, fights, torture and shooting...something you might expect Seagal to be in.  I don't like Seagal...I do like Neeson.  This film looked different enough for me to catch it at the theater.  The four star rating it had at several on-line sources convinced me.  I would stay fairly close to those other ratings...probably leaning more towards three and a half stars, which I will round up to four stars for the database.  I would suggest catching this at the matinee.

Recommended: Yes