To be honest, I didn’t know much about this movie. I thought it dealt with kidnapping. It did, but the creator decided to take the movie a little further. The movie is about the dangers of human trafficking and the emotional roller coaster it brings to individuals involved.
“Taken” is from the same person who created “The Professional” and stars Liam Neeson. Neeson has starred in movies such as “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, “Batman Begins” and “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”.
Since the same man created “The Professional”, I knew “Taken” would not be too different. I was right. Instead of a French person coming to the United States, an American went to France. In fact, two Americans went to France on what might be best described as ‘a one way ticket.’
Neeson’s daughter decides to vacation with a friend in France. She lies to her father and says she is going to Paris. Neeson’s character finds a map showing the band, U2, and their tour dates all over Europe.
Neeson’s daughter and her friend meet a local in France. I thought this was going to turn into “Hostel 2”. I was pretty close. The girls are kidnapped. Neeson’s character tells his daughter what to do and that he would come for her.
Amazing action sequences soon follow. I really liked the part where Neeson looks for his daughter in the construction area. The choreography of the car chase scene reminded me of Clive Owen’s chase scene in a short film in “The Hire”. The choreography was well done.
I thought “Taken” should have gotten an R rating. The fight scenes were pretty intense for a PG-13 rating. The death scenes were violent as well, ranging from a scene taken from “Bride of Chucky” to the execution style of one seen in “The Green Mile”. I’ll leave it at that to let those that have yet to see “Taken” have a chance to see what I am talking about.
There was a typical format that Neeson’s character had as a typical action star. In most action movies, the bad guy gets killed with one bullet. The good guy escapes with no wounds throughout those sequences. If those are trained assassins, shouldn’t they have better aim? Then again, we all want the good guy to win. I would say this formula is in nine of 10 action movies.
I’m sure when “Taken” hits the DVD shelves, there will be an unrated version. This was one of the best PG-13 action movies I have seen in awhile.
Other than that, the editing was done well and the plot was great because it was realistic. Unfortunately, not everyone gets out of human trafficking that easily.
Overall, I give “Taken” two T-Wolf ears up.
