I think I first saw a preview for Taken a few months ago.  The movie looked interesting even though the subject, a parent dealing with a child being kidnaped, wasn’t exactly a new idea for a movie.  I had the chance to see the movie recently.

After putting his career as a spy first for years, Bryan Mills had retired to try to repair his strained relationship with his daughter Kim.  He was slowly starting to make a little bit of progress when Kim and his ex-wife Lenore talked to him about Kim going to Paris with Amanda, a friend.  Bryan didn’t like the idea of Kim and Amanda going to Paris alone but he eventually gave him - with conditions.  The girls had just gotten to the place where they were staying when things went horribly wrong.  Kim was talking to Bryan on the phone when someone broke in and took them.  Bryan’s former training kicked in and he set off to find his daughter with the limited information he had.

It was quickly established when Taken began that Bryan was living alone while Kim lived with Lenore and her wealthy second husband Stuart.  There was no love lost between Bryan and Lenore, but his relationship was slightly better with Kim even though it was still strained.  He was really trying to make things better.  It did seem like he went along with Kim going to Paris just to make her happy because she basically started pouting and ran off when he didn’t immediately agree to let her go.  The strained relationship wasn’t fully explored, but it did play a part in what was going on.

Most of Taken was focused on what Bryan did once Kim was taken.  It was a bit convenient that he was on the phone with her when everything happened and that he was a former spy who knew how to track down people who didn’t want to be found.  He sprang into action as soon as he realized what was going on and managed to record the call.  From that short recording, he, with the help of his former coworkers, was able to get enough information to start his hunt.  That provided a small amount of mystery to the movie, though it wasn’t long before Bryan was looking for specific people. 

There was a lot of action throughout Taken.  Bryan had been some kind of spy, and he still remembered his training.  That helped in a great deal when he headed off to Paris to try to find Kim.  Bryan wasn’t messing around and he had no qualms about getting violent to get the information he needed.  He knew how to fight and how to kill with just a few well placed blows.  He tore through Paris, leaving a path of destruction and too many dead bodies to keep track of, trying to find Kim.  Bryan was involved in several fight scenes that were well done, though the jerky camera work during some of them was highly annoying.  The jerky camera work also turned up during a car chase, and that did make it harder to tell what was going on at times.  Considering all the people that Bryan beat up or killed, there wasn’t as much blood as I expected.  The movie was rated PG-13, so the violence wasn’t as extreme, but I still don’t think this is a movie for children to see.

Bryan had been some type of spy for many years.  He’d put that work ahead of everything, which was why his relationship with his only daughter was so strained.  He was trying to make up for that since he retired.  He was a bit over protective in some cases, but considering the things he had seen while he was a spy, it wasn’t surprising.  He really didn’t like the idea of Kim going to Paris with her friend, and it seemed like the only reason he agreed was because he didn’t want to upset and disappoint her again.  Liam Neeson was really good in the part.  I’ve never seen him play this type of part before and never would have imagined him playing someone going on a killing spree like that, but he pulled it off and made it believable.

Kim had just turned seventeen at the beginning of the movie.  She did seem to love her dad, but the relationship was a bit strained.  It did look like she was spoiled by her mother and step father, and when Bryan didn’t immediately agree to let her go to Paris, she away and wouldn’t even talk to him.  It did seem like she was manipulating him a bit at that point.  She really wasn’t in that much of the movie, so she wasn’t that developed.  Maggie Grace was fine in the part.  Amanda was Kim’s friend.  Amanda was a bit ditzy and seemed to want to run wild around Paris without any supervision.  She did do something very stupid at one point.  Amanda was shown even less than Kim, so Katie Cassidy didn’t have much to do.

Lenore was Kim’s mother and Bryan’s exwife.  She didn’t seem to think much of him any more and was acting a bit like a snob at times.  She didn’t have a problem with Kim going off to Paris and thought Bryan was being a jerk for having concerns.  Lenore really wasn’t that likable of a character, but  Famke Janssen did well with the part though.  Lenore’s husband Stuart popped up in a few scenes without much to do.  It was clear that he was use to throwing money around.  A few of Bryan’s former coworkers were in one or two scenes without much to do.  Bryan encountered several people once he got to Paris who were rather flat characters.

Main Cast

Xander Berkeley - Stuart
Katie Cassidy - Amanda
Maggie Grace - Kim
Famke Janssen - Lenore
Liam Neeson - Bryan Mills

Pierre Morel - Director

Taken was a good, entertaining movie overall even though the plot really wasn’t anything new.  It is worth seeing, especially for fans of Liam Neeson.

Liam Neeson Movie Reviews
Batman Begins ~ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe ~ The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian ~ Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ~

Recommended: Yes