Taken - Review Thread

Every ten years or so there comes along a film that will redefine or set the standards for its genre. The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings, Pan's Labyrinth, The Descent, and City of God are all modern examples of films that have redefined, or set the standards for its respected genre. The Bourne Trilogy, in particular The Bourne Supremacy exemplifies a monumental creation that cemented itself as a significant force in the action genre. Whenever a film succeeds in achieving this status, copy cats are sure to follow. Doug Liman's Go borrowed from Pulp Fiction, The Ruins took from The Descent, Slumdog Millionaire resembled City of God, and Eragon had the look and feel of a Lord of the Rings film, despite coming from an original source material. Taken, starring the always wonderful Liam Neeson inevitably recalls The Bourne Franchise. While the action may be on par with the beloved Matt Damon starring series on the surface, it falls flat on its face in regards to almost everything else.

Liam Neeson is Bryan, an ex Fixer who has recently retired to become closer with his 17 year old daughter Kim. When Kim asks daddy for permission to venture to Paris, Bryan is skeptical. Eventually with the help of her mother, Lenore, Kim is given the OK to go and Bryan is submitted into a worry stricken state while his daughter travels halfway across the globe. Not surprisingly, Kim is kidnapped and it's up to Bryan to save his daughter before it's too late. The first fault embedded in Taken is its lack of interest in the story. Director Morel gives a valiant effort in developing Kim into a identifiable character but all in all he fails. There's just not enough time devoted to what is a very significant piece of the puzzle. Tony Scott did a fantastic job with this in Man on Fire. He devoted a good 1/3 of the film to the growing bond between Creasy and Pita. The relationship between Bryan and Kim is mostly by the numbers. He's divorced, she never see's him, his ex-wife isn't fond of him, theirs a new father like figure in Kim's life, Bryan's lack of knowledge in regards to Kim's teen interests, etc. Nothing new is presented to us.

When she finally gets "taken," Liam Neeson spouts what is suppose to be the most "badass" one liners since John McClane shouted "Yippiekayay!" in Die Hard all those years ago. I found it rather cheesy and borderline laughable. "I'll find you" - "good luck." Am I missing something here? The action along with the score is probably the most telling signs of the Bourne rip-off elements presented. While they're unoriginal they work and feel real. Neeson might be old but he shines with his performance physically, and emotionally. It's so refreshing to have realistic hand to hand combat instead of super human strength that surround exploitation films like Rambo. While the film moves at its fast and speedy pace it manages to go into auto-pilot mode. When a film goes into auto-pilot that usually means its going to turn out predictable and lackluster. Shot for shot, frame for frame, the formula becomes progressively more clear and eventually it lost my interest and focus.

Their are a couple of noble efforts in developing some of the supporting characters. A sub-plot involving a teen singer and Bryan's friendly group of buddies are given little screen time, and their importance to the production is rather bleak or cliche. Here's where The Broune Trilogy manages to look even better and better as Taken becomes worse and worse. Bourne has continuity interwoven within its sophisticated plot structure while Taken is a connect-the-dots action flick that does little time to invest in intelligence and chooses to regurgitate action scene after action scene. Those sequences work, but not on a level of a Jason Bourne sequence. The book fight sequence in the middle reels of The Bourne Ultimatum work far better than any of the action scenes presented in Taken. There we have characters we care about, know, and have come accustomed to based on that third entry alone. An important part in Taken revolves around the fate of Kim's best friend Amanda. It's suppose to be a sentimental, high emotion moment in the film but its almost uninteresting.

While Taken fails in its storytelling it manages to redeem itself with Liam Neeson's performance. Hes a little older then your regular action hero but he makes it work nonetheless. He's a cool, calm, and collected father who's behavior outside the action realm resemble yet again a comfortable looking Jason Bourne. Maggie Grace isn't too bad as Kim while Kate Cassidy represents the stereotypical dumb blonde best friend. Famke Janssen is the pissed off divorced ex-wife and everyone else resembled much of the same traditions as the latter. While their are many faults, Taken is nonetheless an entertaining action film. If your going for a smart flick keep looking because Taken succumbs to tradition too often, unable to settle outside a comfort zone so often visited in the past.