Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #145 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-02-09
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Synopsis
Liam Neeson is an unstoppable force in this adrenaline-fuelled thriller from director Pierre Morel. Bryan (Neeson) has taken early retirement from the CIA in order to live closer to his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Bryan's government work kept him away from Kim for much of her childhood, and he's now trying to make up for lost time. When Kim announces that she's taking a trip to Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy), Bryan is apprehensive about her travelling on her own. His worst fear is soon realized, as Kim and Amanda are abducted upon their arrival in France. Bryan immediately springs into action, using his well-honed CIA skills to piece together clues from a single, frantic phone call he received from Kim. He hops a plane to Paris, determined to rescue his daughter before she falls off the grid completely. With some help from his old CIA buddies, he tracks down the kidnappers--an Albanian crime ring known for selling young girls into the sex trade. He quickly takes matters into his own hands, plowing his way through Paris's underworld as the clock ticks down and the bullets fly. His search propels him into the upper echelons of a massive crime ring, putting him closer and closer to his beloved daughter.


Neeson is known for tackling extremely cerebral roles, so it is interesting to see him in full-on action-hero mode. In TAKEN he is no less than a crime-fighting machine--a Bourne/Bond hybrid with a deathly serious baritone. And while he spends most of the film firing Uzis and snapping necks, he still manages to deliver a moving performance as an estranged father fighting for what he loves most in the world. The film undeniably owes a lot to Neeson's acting chops. He manages to raise this rather thinly plotted, deeply violent film a bar above your typical action fare.

Customer Reviews

Great entertainment and also horrifying...
There are two sides to this movie - the serious one and the fun one.
The serious is that it tells a story based on things that really happen (the women's fate in this movie). My wife just watching these scenes was so horrified and pissed off in the same time that I haven't seen her like that. The bad characters are 100% bad and you feel great when they are taken care of by the enraged father.
The fun part is that the story is very fluent (not believable but you wish you were this guy with his set of skills to do the job that he is doing).
Another idea of Luc Besson - and a brilliant one.
Liam Neeson - I was disappointed when I saw his name in the leading role. But when I saw him in action...he is 100% convincing and excellent in this role.
Looking for a good action movie that will keep you glued to the screen for 1.5h?! - This is your 100% guaranteed pick.

Undeniably efficient albeit grim thriller
Liam Neeson plays the lean hard guy surprisingly well in this efficient if brutal thriller.
He is divorced and has given up his career as a government agent of some description, to be near his 17 year old daughter, who lives with his ex-wife and her new rich husband.
When she is kidnapped on a trip to Paris, all his expertise kicks in to get her back. And really, that is about it - in an era of sophisticated thrillers with labyrinthine plots, the narrative here seems very simple and told in straightforward linear fashion, with few if any surprises.
And yet, it works - because it is lean and fast - the action is brutal and frenetic in close up Bourne style, and once events kick off it really does not let up until the unsurprising conclusion. Neeson is lithe and believable as a trained killing machine, giving the film a huge boost of credibility.
There is it has to be said a mean streak in Neeson's character at odds with the family man, as he mercilessly kills off any and everything that gets in his way. In fact, it becomes almost unpleasant that the film is purporting an American has a right to do whatever he likes in Europe to protect `his own', including torture, on the spot assassinations, and untold collateral damage.
However, watched as a straight action flick, this is entertaining enough, as long as you have a strong stomach for the unpleasant underbelly of Paris dying as faces are smashed into hard objects, bullets shatter limbs, and others die in... well, let's say shocking ways. It's like an urban Rambo invented for a new generation!

Took me by suprise
This must be one of the better films I have watched this year. And there have been a lot of films this year.

Liam Neeson is cast as Brian Mills, a former goverment agent for the USA. He's spent his life in service to his country ( I can only presume that he is Irish-American )and during that time he has managed a divorce from his wife, Lenora, and an abundance of missed time with his only child Kim ( Maggie Grace ). So, self retired and looking to make up lost time, Neeson has moved close to his daughter and literally put his life on hold to prove that he is a decent father, as he longs for his daughters affection.

Moving on a bit and just after Kims' 17th birthday party she asks if she can meet up with her dad for lunch. Brian is ecstatic to agree to this. The next day they meet up but it isnt the lunch Brian was expecting. Lenora, his ex wife, also turns up and turns out that Kim wants to go to Paris with a friend. At first Brian, sceptical and reluctant, he is a travelled man and knows the world, he tries to warn Kim of the dangers. But she wont hear of it, nor will his ex wife...after all kids are kids. Brian believes that two 17 year old girls, alone in Paris, is just asking for trouble.

Moving on a bit more. Brian agrees, after accepting that Kim will phone him everyday to let her know that things will be okay.
Right I wont spoil the rest.

What follows is a truly excellent action/father rescue movie that will grab you by the heart and demand that you watch it. Neeson portrays his character with little effort but its the action that really excels Neeson in a way that I havent seen since Rob Roy. His character, Brian, is getting on a bit, somewhat rugged but he hasnt lost the edge and he really does go out of his way to get justice. Think Denzel was mean in man on fire? Neeson matches up to that.
Neesons' performance is solid and its impossible to deny that he fits the, can I say, Bond-like role with such ease and finesse.
I can see this movie slipping under the radar but...if you like Bourne or Bond ( the Daniel Craig variety as its more realistic ) then you will enjoy this movie. Its not original, it has been done before but Neeson is simply brilliant and the action flows like water.
The reason I have given this movie four stars is because of

- A few small plot holes
- A little rushed
- Ultimately wouldnt turn out the same way that the movie ends...

Other than minor niggles this is a great film which stays with you after one viewing, at least enough to warrant another.