Taken took me by surprise. What I thought was going to be a mindless action flick turned out to be quite entertaining. Liam Neeson hasn't lost any of the A-list pull that he's utilized in many roles in the past (and no, I'm not referring to his role as Qui Gon Jin) and seems to be doing just nicely in this movie by Transporter director, Pierre Morel.

What's interesting to note here is that Luc Besson is credited as one of the writers (who also worked on The Transporter and is most famous for directing The Fifth Element) and I tend to really like projects he is involved with.

Taken covers a controversial subject (human trafficking) and does an OK job of covering the subject matter (albeit in a strictly Hollywood-like fashion). The main gist of the story is that Liam Neeson's character is a former spy who is trying to build a relationship with his estranged daughter. His daughter is then kidnapped whilst on holiday in Paris with a friend and the hunt for his daughter begins. Utilising all the 'skills' he obtained during his many years of service, Liam Neeson takes us on a non-stop, action-packed thrill-ride in an attempt to locate his daughter and bring her back home in one piece.

The body count eventually tolls upwards of around 20 (or thereabouts) but we're delighted to see that not one bit of wire work was used in any of the fight scenes. I actually found the action sequences in Taken quite well choreographed and if you're any kind of fan of action flicks, you'll thoroughly enjoy this aspect of the movie.

As for the acting, well Liam Neeson is great but he does seem to be doing it all by the numbers in this one. As believable as he is in this role, we can't help but think this movie is Pierre Morel's answer to the 'Bourne Identity'. Famke Janssen is equally as believable as the ex-wife who is now married to 'the old, rich guy' and Maggie Grace is fine although I found it difficult believing she's supposed to be 17.

Is it worth paying $15 to see? Probably not, unless you're the type that really digs your action flicks on the big screen, I'd recommend waiting for this title to revert to DVD and rent it out from your local.

Digital Otaku Rating

6/10

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