tomelce's Review

Summary - OK 2.5

“Taken” won’t be perhaps the most water-tight examination of international sex-trafficking you’re ever likely to see, but it just about gets the job done as a swift action film (a sorta-hit for this genre’s junkies). For anyone more discerning, these two elements combat and director Pierre Morel winds up with a film technically more satisfying than a 2.5/5 rating would suggest, but one not intellectually rewarding whatsoever. As it turns out, Liam Neeson’s committed central turn might even be considered its saving grace.

Acting - Good 3.0

Neeson gives an enthralling if arguably un-amazing lead performance, sincere in his determination to retrieve his daughter (Maggie Grace of TV’s “Lost”) following her kidnapping by a group of people traffickers in Paris. He makes as believable as he can a general plot that involves his character using prior experience as a spy to track down and punish his daughter’s abducters, and also find her. Grace offers good support in a major but underwritten role, showing up about twice after the opening twenty minutes and thus not getting much to work with. For the villains, read: one note Euro bad guys.

Film - Good 3.0

Visually lush (not necessarily making the most of the setting but doing it some justice) and competently directed if not scripted, the film works on aesthetic thrills more than it does the strength of the screenplay, by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, which is quiet muggy and not entirely likely. Eventually the film evolves into a prolonged shot of adrenaline, viewers invited to sit back and watch Neeson take names and dish out beatings to various baddies.

Edge - Risqué 2.0

Not likely to gross you out, with little blood for all the on-screen violence, little sex for the ultimate subject matter, and standard level of profanity.

Reality - Glib 2.0

Glib through and through, though the film’s more shallow strengths go some way towards entertaining even those who might have wanted something more rewarding than another throwaway action flick (which “Taken” essentially is).

3 Comments

• BrianSez Mar 1, 2013 6:55PM

  Regarding BrianSez’s Review
  So I’ve been told… T2 won’t be on my to-view list any time soon

• jasonhurwitz Feb 27, 2013 9:58PM

  Regarding BrianSez’s Review
  Taken = good. Taken 2 = blech.

• Wick Jan 9, 2009 8:27AM

  Excellent review Tom. I hadn’t heard anything about this movie till seeing a run of trailers for it on TV the past few days. The trailer left me scratching my head since they made it look like Neeson anticipated his daughter’s abduction as payback for something he’d done. Apparently not, which makes the plot setup seem overly contrived. In any case, your review is very helpful in understanding this as a fairly run-of-the-mill action pic.

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