Movie Review: Taken

Taken
1.5 Lloyds – Not Family-Friendly
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.
Running Time: 1 hour 31 minutes

New on DVD for Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Bryan Mills is about to strike out on the longest 96 hours of his life. He’s a former government operative who’s on the hunt for a fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim. Mills, played by Liam Neeson, recently gave up his government career as what he calls a “preventer.” When asked what exactly that means, he responds by saying, “I prevented bad things from happening.” He gave up his career to be near Kim, who lives with his ex-wife Lenore and her new husband. To make ends meet, Bryan joins some former colleagues for special security details. But most of his time and energy are spent re-connecting with Kim.

But, his familial goal is nearly derailed when Kim requests his permission to spend time in Paris with a friend. All too aware of the dangers that could lie ahead of Kim in a foreign land, Bryan says no. But, Kim’s disappointment leads him to a very reluctant yes. Then, after the pair arrive in Paris, Bryan’s worst fears are realized when Kim and her friend Amanda are suddenly abducted, in broad daylight, from the Paris apartment at which they’ve just arrived. Moments before Kim is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone her Dad, who begins to piece together clues. The clues take him to the darkness of the Paris underworld, and to the City of Light’s plushest mansions.

A Video Game Plotline

After a somewhat slow start, Taken suddenly bursts out of the gate with break-neck speed when the following words are uttered across a phone line…

“I don’t know you and I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you’re looking for a ransom, I can tell you, I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular sets of skills acquired over a very long career in the shadows, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you. And I will kill you.”

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Taken takes off in a plot-line direction that will make your head spin.

Liam Neeson is a great actor. But, this movie leaves much to be desired. It seems as though the scriptwriters had an idea for a shoot ‘em up type movie, but that was about all. Taken clocks in at barely an hour and half. Remember, the running time also counts closing credits. In other words, this movie actually struggles to get to an hour and a half in length.

In a nutshell, here’s how the movie plays out…

• Slow beginning that makes you wonder what is going on.
• Video game type kill everyone in sight sequences.
• Closing that leaves you saying – “Is that it!?”

If you’re looking for senseless action, senseless destruction, senseless killing and an almost non-existent connection of plot-lines, then Taken is for you. It appears as though the writers spent more time playing video games than writing the script. As Neeson’s character works his way through the flick to rescue his daughter, it’s like a poorly done video game. With every level, he has to kill more people to get to the prize – his daughter.

Taken is far from family-friendly. It doesn’t even come close to that category. It’s rated PG-13, but aside from being a poorly done movie, this is by no means for an audience much younger than 16 or 17. It’s just way to violent. While some of the film techniques are interesting, and as already mentioned, Liam Neeson is great, those good points do not out-weight the other problems and issues with this movie.

Avoid the show!
Dr. Rus