Review: Taken
“Taken” centers around Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), a former spy or “protector” for the US government who has recently retired to spend more time with his 17 year old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) Kim lives with her mother and stepfather, and rarely gets to see Bryan. Kim is invited to spend part of the summer with her friend Amanda in France, her mother immediately says yes, while Bryan is not comfortable with the situation. He eventually gives in, under the condition Kim calls him every day he’s there. Kim and Amanda meet someone at the airport who shares a cab ride home, while Kim is on the phone with Brian 4 men swarm in the house and kidnap them. Bryan traces the phone call and immediately gets a flight to France. After learning his daughter has been kidnapped by sex traffickers, Brian only has roughly 96 hours before he loses her for good.
When I first found out this movie was rated PG13 I was almost disappointed. I didn’t think it could possibly be as “badass” as the ‘Die Hard’ films or others of that genre. After seeing it I’m glad it was PG13. The violence was effective, but not over the top. The sex trafficking theme was kept relatively tame. No nudity, nothing is really shown. The film chose not to exploit that, which was a smart thing to do. The always wonderful Liam Neeson is totally believable as a former spy who can kick a lot of ass. My only problem with this film was that the character development wasn’t that great (except for Bryan). His daughter came off as bratty, and could’ve been a bit more thankful considering what her father just went through to get her back. Also *spoiler alert* they didn’t seem to sad upon returning back to the states considering her friend Amanda was murdered. I understand the film probably would’ve been a bit too long had they gone into things like this, but that bothered me a little bit.
The film has great action scenes, and it tackles the very taboo subjects of human trafficking. Neeson is a good lead, and believable spy. You leave this film wishing you defend yourself the way that he does.
Recommended: Yes 3.5/5
Memorable Quote: “You don’t remember me? We spoke on the phone yesterday…I told you I would find you” - Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson)
When I first found out this movie was rated PG13 I was almost disappointed. I didn’t think it could possibly be as “badass” as the ‘Die Hard’ films or others of that genre. After seeing it I’m glad it was PG13. The violence was effective, but not over the top. The sex trafficking theme was kept relatively tame. No nudity, nothing is really shown. The film chose not to exploit that, which was a smart thing to do. The always wonderful Liam Neeson is totally believable as a former spy who can kick a lot of ass. My only problem with this film was that the character development wasn’t that great (except for Bryan). His daughter came off as bratty, and could’ve been a bit more thankful considering what her father just went through to get her back. Also *spoiler alert* they didn’t seem to sad upon returning back to the states considering her friend Amanda was murdered. I understand the film probably would’ve been a bit too long had they gone into things like this, but that bothered me a little bit.
The film has great action scenes, and it tackles the very taboo subjects of human trafficking. Neeson is a good lead, and believable spy. You leave this film wishing you defend yourself the way that he does.
Recommended: Yes 3.5/5
Memorable Quote: “You don’t remember me? We spoke on the phone yesterday…I told you I would find you” - Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson)
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