Movie Review Taken AKA Jack Bauer's Irish Cousin
Reviewed By Jessica Dwyer
Liam Neeson is good at kicking ass. We've established this many times over in his film career be it Rob Roy where he's in a kilt and kicking ass, or in Darkman where he's wearing no skin and kicking ass. Hell, he even kicked Batman's ass. This time around he's kicking ass as an ex-agent for the government who's daughter has been Taken (oooh the title!!).
As it so happens the idiots who kidnap Neeson's daughter "don't know who they are fucking with" to borrow a phrase from another movie. This comes back to bite them later on when Neeson who's not an idiot figures out who and where they are.
You get the jist of the plot from the trailer. The film really is Neeson tracking his daughter down and beating the living snot out of all the evil doers. Just so you know he's got an ex-wife in the form of Famke Janssen who treats him like crap and who's married to (funnily enough) the ex-head of CTU who got radiation poisoning, George Mason (his name is Stuart in this and the actor is Xander Berkeley).
Liam's character, Bryan, is having issues with his relationship with his daughter. Stuart doesn't help matters by being filthy rich. Mommy Phoenix...I mean Famke, doesn't either and keeps saying that Bryan is paranoid when he doesn't want his 17 year old daughter going off to Europe with her ditzy friend alone to follow U2 around. Yeah....that's just retarded, what could happen? 17 year old American chicks in foreign countries with no one watching them...what could possibly happen?
He relents and BAM! Within hours of arriving in Paris his daughter and her stupid friend do something stupid ! (surprise) and they get kidnapped by white slavery dealers. That's when the fun really starts. Enter the French Kevin Spacey as an ex-buddy of Bryan's who may or may not actually be helping him and there's your movie.
What makes Taken great (besides the fact it FINALLY defeated Paul Blart to take the #1 spot at the Box Office) is the fact it doesn't really complicate matters. Luc Besson co-wrote the film, and his over the top action style shines through. Bryan doesn't have a lot of time to get to his daughter before she is gone for good, so he doesn't have time to be nice or mess around.
There are many Bauer moments that made me titter with happiness. Seeing Liam Neeson kick butt and look damn fine for a man in his late 50's brings joy to many women (and guys) and this movie delivers that in spades. It's a fun flick that makes no pretensions on what it is. A revenge action movie that delivers.
Go see it and help defeat the evil that is Paul Blart.