“TAKEN”
“Taken”, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace and directed by Pierre Morel, is an action packed thriller, following the footsteps of movies such as the Bourne series (may even be surpassing in the thrilling factor).
Liam Neeson plays a retired CIA operative who is trying to rekindle a relationship with his estranged teenage daughter. When a trip to Paris results in her kidnapping by an Albanian mob (whose specialty is human trafficking), Neeson must rely on all of his past job skills to find his daughter before she disappears forever. And he only has 96 hours to do so.
I have not thought that an action film could be so engaging and so thrilling as well. But then again, what else would you expect from Liam Neeson? Whatever this guy gets involved in always seem to have amazing results. And so is this one, surprisingly so…
Even though a bit on the older side these days, Neeson does a remarkable job of playing a former agent and makes it seem quite believable. Besides, who said that man in their fifties cannot be deadly?
The main theme of the movie seems to be ‘violence is an answer for everything’ with sub-themes touching upon drugs, prostitution and human trafficking but in spite of these (or perhaps because of exactly those elements), “Taken” moves from a plain ‘blow them up, shoot them up’ movie to one that is not only fast-paced and action packed but also containing some meaning and perhaps even lessons for the gullible ones. This might be because the script was partly written by Luc Besson (“Leon-the Professional”) whose one of the best action movie writers in Hollywood these days.
Would I recommend it? Definitely. And not only for Liam Neeson’s fan but anyone who enjoys good action thrillers that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the very end. Enjoy…