2009 February 04 « Entertainment Today and Beyond

TAKEN review- A ride well WORTH taking

TAKEN- I had a blast watching this film Saturday night as it was one of the best revenge thrillers I’ve seen in quite some time. What separated this film from the critically hailed Jason Bourne movies is the likeability of the main character Liam Neeson plays. He’s a guy I could relate to and I cared about his plight.

The script is solid, setting the basic plot in motion and providing more than enough time to get to know Bryon Mills (Neeson), a retired CIA agent, who’s trying to make up lost time with his teenage daughter (Maggie Grace) against the wishes of his spiteful ex-wife (Famke Janssen). After his daughter travels to Paris and gets abducted by a sex slave ring, Mills gets on the next plane along with “an assorted set of skills he has acquired over the years” in order to get her back with a projected 96 hour window to do so. If you’re in the mood for a kick-ass action revenge film with one of the best actors in the business leading the way, I highly recommend Taken. It’s a very compelling and satisfying genre piece that is sure to have a cult following for years to come.

I must admit I really do miss this genre. I grew up watching Charles Bronsons’s Death Wish series and, while far from high art, they were effective revenge fantasy films that I watch every time they’re on TV. TAKEN is a throwback to a genre that dissolved after the 1980’s when guys like Bronson disappeared. Neeson really fills the void. While the Jason Bourne films have legions of fans, I’m not one of them. I find those movies so un-involving that I’m more detached with each installment. I’ll take Neeson’s Mills over Damon’s Bourne any day of the week and I’ll keep watching the Death Wish marathon every time it airs on AMC. TAKEN gets 3.75 Zombies out of 5.