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Rating of
3/4
"Taken" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/27/2012
A retired ex-secret serviceman is trying to make amends with his estranged daughter when she is kidnapped in Paris by white slave traders. Taken is on paper a very straightforward, almost tired sounding idea that you've heard a thousand times before. It's an unpretentious action thriller that plays out like a revenge story, except there is a goal outside of vengeance; a father's unstoppable wish to protect his daughter from harm. The first 30 minutes is the usual predictable and slightly clumsy exposition, but once Neeson springs into action it becomes an altogether different beast. Neeson is not the kind of action hero who looks like he'd shy from a fight for the fear of mussing his hair. Instead we get an ageing Irish terminator cutting a swathe through the kind of evil bastards even a …
Rating of
3/4
A truly kick ass action move!
MovieAddict - wrote on 02/04/2012
Bryan (Liam Neeson) is now a former special agent whose daughter lives with his ex-wife and her current husband, who is apparently very rich. Despite his better judgment, he gives consent for his 17 year-old daughter to go to Paris with a friend. However all his "paranoia" is justified when his daughter calls him during an abduction by some unknown men. Using his contacts, Bryan learns of an Albanian group specializing in kidnapping young women into sex slavery and estimates he has 96 hours maximum before she is drugged beyond redemption and sold into prostitution. Calling on a lifetime of skills, Bryan goes to Paris to track down those responsible destroying anyone and everyone in his path to find his daughter.
What can I say, great movie, probably at the same level of enjoyment with …
Rating of
3/4
Taken review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 09/22/2011
"You come to this country, take advantage of the system and think because we are tolerant that we are weak and helpless. Your arrogance offends me." Liam Neeson is an ex-CIA whose daughter was kidnapped in a foreign country. I was surprised Neeson can perform action scenes. The dialogue, locations and score was sensational. The only reservations this critic had on this picture was its believability. If you remember Steven Seagal films, you rarely see him get hurt, well until they eventually killed him in the Executive Decision, a different topic altogether. You see our hero hero jump off bridges, dodge bullets and the like. Only to get all bloodied up in the near conclusion. If it was Die Hard like realistic, this would have been rated higher. Overall, the performances were good …
Rating of
3.5/4
A Load of Fun!
lpd381 - wrote on 12/31/2010
This movie was actually better then I thought it would be. For the last year all I have heard is how great this movie was, but I could not see this actually being any good. I finally got a hold of a copy and sat down and watched it. First off the acting was all around great for an action flick. Typically action flicks have good leads and weak everything else. I didn't really see a horrible actor. Next the plot was good and kept me interested. The thing that bothered me was the bad guys fell victim to the typical action movie pit fall. They shot thousands of bullets and only his him once (at the end of the movie no less). Yet our hero typically hits whoever is being aimed at. I get he was a hard core special forces guy but for the love of god he doesn't have an invisible force field. I …
Rating of
3/4
It took my heart
Freddie - wrote on 05/23/2009
Let's get the bad out of the way. Apparently Liam Neeson is superman. Apparently there are no cops in France that when you drive on the wrong side of the road they won't chase you. Had this taken place in NY he wouldn't have made it 4 blocks. There were aspects that were obviously very unrealistic--very Kill Bill-esque where Kiddo killed the Crazy 88 all by herself. However, I will say that those scenes are always very fun to watch. Very..."OMG, how are they gonna do it this time." Boom! Kick! Pow! "Yes! Awesome!" I will probably never watch this movie again. While most of the action scenes were pure Hollywood, unfortunately, the story line itself is very real--that's why this movie is worth watching. But like I said, only once. Knowing that what happened to those girls was actually …
Rating of
2.5/4
Review: "Taken"
MovieGuy878 - wrote on 05/15/2009
"Taken" is a slightly above average action/thriller thats enjoyable but wouldnt want to see again. Taken is "Ransom" meets any of the movies in the Bourne franchise. The main reason this movie works for the most part is the powerhouse proformance by Liam Neeson. He doesn have that much to work with in way of a story or writting but he knocks it out of the park. Neeson is really underrated actor who deserves a oscar. Pierre Morel's sophmore effort (first being the very entertaining, but empty "District B13") shows he can do action very well. Morel offers a nice gritty feel to the film. Yea, the action scenes seem like they're right out of a Bourne movie, but they work and will please any fan of action films. With the good things said, the bad things keep from being something that …
Rating of
3.5/4
Pony tails are out
BryanFury - wrote on 02/07/2009
I wasn't expecting how Taken would impress me but it did, in an intense adrenalin rush fashion. The story was gripping and action sequences was far impressive than I thought it would be. How can anyone believe that a fifty’ish actor could move like a twenty year old Steven Segal, its mind blowing really. Yes there could be obvious comparison with the TV series 24 but this movie dwells more in the main character rather than the sound of a diminishing timeframe. Liam Neeson is fantastic doing his Jason Bourne impersonation and who would have thought he has the chops to do it. He’s really (if I haven’t stressed it enough) like a Steven Segal without the horrible ponytail. The pacing was just flawless there’s definitely no boring moment. Seeing the dark recesses of the prostitution …
Rating of
1.5/4
A series of violent sequences in search of a plot
danand82 - wrote on 09/28/2008
In Taken, Liam Neeson plays an overprotective father with a violent past whose paranoia is proven right when his daughter is snatched while on a trip to Paris. Mere hours later he is on the ground in the French capital, determined to find his daughter and punish those responsible. What follows is a haphazard series of fights, interrogations, car chases, more fights, several smashed windpipes and an ending totally at odds with the film which preceded it.
The action should have been harsh and brutal and while it is sometimes effective it is crippled by being framed too close and by the PG-13 rating. Who thought that a film dealing with violent revenge, dozens of deaths, torture and prostitution rings should be watched by people in their early teens?
Taken is all the more disappointing …
