Not quite Jason Bourne, but not James Bond either. A little of Mel Gibson in Ransom. A little of Jean Reno in The Professional. Liam Neeson’s character, Bryan Mills, is a combination of a lot of your favorite action spy movie heroes, and maybe a little more than some of them.
Taken is an action packed movie about a father’s desperate hunt for his kidnapped daughter. Neesons’ Mills is a former govt operative who has retired to spend more time near his teenage daughter, who lives with Mills’ ex-wife and her new rich husband. When the daughter, Kim, decides to spend a summer vacation with her friends in Paris, she needs her father’s permission, and he begrudgingly gives it to stay in her good graces, but warns her of the dangers for young women traveling abroad. As you know from the title and the previews, Kim and her friend are kidnapped almost immediately upon arriving in France, and the rest of the movie follows Mills’ hunt for the men who took his daughter.
Taken is a good film, but not a great one. The action is good, although overly hectic at times, and the acting is good as well. Neeson is utterly convincing as a man with years of training who is willing to do absolutely anything (and he does some very questionable things) to accomplish his goal. The plot is fine, although Mills is able to cut through the criminal organization extremely quickly (unbelieveably so) to find his daughter, and the ending is very abrupt and a little sappy. Overall, though, this is a good spy action movie with plenty of suspense, good car chases and fights without any over the top special effects or explosions or other hoaky devices. It’s somewhat of a Bourne style movie, with plenty of quick cuts and realistic action, so if you like those movies, you’ll probably like this one.
Taken is rated PG-13 for violence, some sexual content (no nudity), and suggestive drug references. I don’t know that I’d say it’s inappropriate for younger kids, but I’m not sure they would understand some of the subject material. If you’re looking for a good spy thriller flick, this is a pretty decent offering.