Liam Neeson plays a retired ‘ex-government staff’ in ‘Taken’. Divorced, he dotes on his 17-year-daughter. Unfortunately, she is kidnapped by slave-traders in Paris, and this is a race-against-time, as father pulls no stops to rescue his daughter. In a window of 96 hours, he has to engage his resourcefulness, military skillfulness, quick wits, and fearless conviction to battle a vicious European syndicate hell-bent on profit.
Neeson plays the role of the calm and composed father very well, and when he springs into action – he is vastly differently, and unpredictable. He is the equivalent of Jason Bourne (protagonist in the Bourne trilogy), except he is middle age. Neeson is still athletic, and he plays this character very well. The action scenes are well choreographed, and do justice for this action-thriller genre. The body count is very high, and the violence is real, although not gratuitous. It is not shot in the artistic style of John Woo in ‘A Better Tomorrow’. The scenes of how gullible girls are drugged and ‘traded’ are disturbing.
The pacing is fast, so there is no ‘dead time’. This can be strongly attributed to the co-writer, auteur French director, Luc Besson (of ‘La Femme Nikita’ and ‘Taxi’ fame) who created a believable character and plot. The father-daughter relationship is the centerpiece of this gritty film, and the viewer will be encouraged to be optimistic and hopeful. There is nothing more powerful than parental love.
This is a film definitely worth watching.
[4/5 stars]
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