Taken

Every so often, a casting choice just makes you shake your head. Nothing about it seems to make sense....until you see the movie. Liam Neeson as a former spy savagely going about getting his daughter back from Albanian gangsters? I was skeptical, but came away very impressed with Mr. Neeson as an action star in last year's Taken.

Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a former spy and government operative, we never do find out in what capacity, who has retired from his spy gig and moved to L.A. to spend more time with his 17-year old daughter, Kim. Having seen all the horrors the world has to offer, Bryan is understandably protective of his daughter, but in the hopes of helping her grow up through experience, he agrees to sign off on a trip to Paris with her 19-year old friend, Samantha. Of course, on arrival in Paris, a friendly, handsome young Frenchman approaches them and asks if they want to come to a party. Cue the Albanian gangsters, and the two girls get kidnapped, not for ransom but to be sold off to the highest bidder.

Now using all the skills he acquired from years of working to prevent such things, Mills begins to meticulously hunt down and kill anyone who may be involved with the kidnapping. That's the whole movie right there, Liam Neeson killing people. Imagine Death Wish with Neeson instead of Charles Bronson. What helps this movie rise above your average revenge movie is the casting of Neeson, one of the finest actors around. He's never really done an action movie before, but he fits in here as smoothly as possible. Here's a perfect example, the best scene in the movie. If I learned anything from Taken, it's this; don't mess with Neeson's family or you'll be tortured, shot, stabbed, electrocuted or hit by a bus, or all of the above.

Bryan's daughter, Kim, is played by Maggie Grace who I've only previously seen in Lost. In a part that requires her to look innocent, act naive and scream a lot, Grace makes a very easily annoying character into a likable person. Famke Janssen is Lenore not "Lennie," Bryan's ex-wife who still has an ax to her grind. In the way of villains, there's not one main bad guy Bryan's gunning for, just lots of henchmen. When told about the Albanians, he's told there's hundreds, maybe thousands of them in Paris. So translated, that means thousands of potential victims. I'd have to go back and re-watch the movie, but Bryan's kill count is rather impressive and with some creative methods. Here's basically every punch, kick, stab and kill in the movie. MASSIVE SPOILERS though, be forewarned.

One wasted part of the cast was Bryan's friends who are former operatives themselves, led by Leland Orser as Sam. I thought the movie was building to a scene where Bryan and his three friends just let loose, but it never came around, too bad.

Which brings me to a complaint I have with current action movies. Does anyone actually like the quick-cutting fight sequences that change so quickly it's hard to actually see what's happening? Movies like the Bourne trilogy, which I still love, and Quantum of Solace, use this technique to the point I'm not quite sure who's dead and how. Taken uses this technique as Bryan dispatches gangster after gangster. Maybe I'm missing something, but if I want to show how skilled a character is, I show the move or moves as he goes up against a rival. Instead, we get a blur, a quick cut, and the man's down. It's one of my bigger pet peeves with current action movies so hopefully studio execs read this, haha right, and start changing things.

As for the movie though, there's not much to talk about. After introductions to the characters and their backgrounds, it's right to the kidnapping and rescue effort. No big subplots or anything to distract from Bryan's vendetta. Plain and simple, this movie is Liam Neeson wiping out whole gangs of bad guys. Taken is worth seeing just for Neeson's performance. And I couldn't help but think, hey, how about some prequels? Let's get some more background on this badass!