?I will find you, and I will kill you!?
Liam Neeson is pure awesome in Taken
Directed by Pierre Morel
Written by Luc Bessen and Robert Mark Kamen
Liam Neeson-Bryan Mills
Famke Janssen-Lenore
Leland Orser-Sam
So the basic premise of Taken is Bryan Mills is a retired spy who?s daughter convinces him to allow her to travel to Europe despite his numerous warnings of just how dangerous the world really his. Well as it turns out his paranoia was completely justified. His daughter is captured by Albanian terrorists who run what basically amounts to sex slavery and the trafficking of women. Mills offers them the chance to quit now, and of course they decline his offer. Immediately the first thought that came to mind when they said this was ?wrong answer?
So Mills begins to pretty much tear Paris apart in his search for his daughter, all the while leaving quite a headache for the local police. The film portrays well in my opinion just how far Mills is willing to go to save his daughter. There is pretty much no law he won?t disregard or boundary he won?t push, including resorting to torture and interrogation. While his methods are more than questionable, laws and bureaucracy probably mean little to someone has 96 hours until their child is lost forever. Also, I feel the film also makes some interesting social commentary about the people who run such ?businesses? and the horrors endured by the women forced into such circumstances.
Liam Neeson is pure liquid badass as Mills. I think they may have even had him sign a ?no bleeding? clause. At times though, I felt it was too easy for Neeson?s character. It never seemed like he was in any real danger, and none of the terrorists really posed a significant challenge to him. He weathers firefights without a scratch. Also, it seemed as though Neeson?s character was the only one to ever receive significant screen time, aside from his French contact.
As for special effects, there really aren?t any, or if there were, I didn?t really notice them, although that isn?t necessarily a bad thing. There were a couple of nice explosions, and the firefights were fairly cool, but other than that, nothing else really comes to mind. The sound was average I would say. I didn?t notice any sort of background music, and there wasn?t anything that left an impression, good or bad.
The action is definitely the big appeal of the film. It is intense and gritty. It also had some lines of dialogue that stayed with me long after the film was over. I found the interrogation scene in a run-down basement to particularly interesting, as this scene really for me hammered home that Mills would stop at nothing to find his daughter. It makes one wonder just what lengths someone would go to in his shoes. The story does a decent job of not only showing the horrors of sex-trafficking, but also of a father?s struggle to reconnect with his daughter and to be part of her life after so many years of absence.
Overall I liked Taken. Liam Neeson gives a solid performance. If you liked any of his previous roles, then I think you would like Taken. It has intense action, and is willing to bring up subjects most aren?t willing to think about. I know it left a lasting impression on me, and I know a film is good when it has me thinking about it long after it is over. I definitely recommend seeing Taken.
Liam Neeson is pure awesome in Taken
Directed by Pierre Morel
Written by Luc Bessen and Robert Mark Kamen
Liam Neeson-Bryan Mills
Famke Janssen-Lenore
Leland Orser-Sam
So the basic premise of Taken is Bryan Mills is a retired spy who?s daughter convinces him to allow her to travel to Europe despite his numerous warnings of just how dangerous the world really his. Well as it turns out his paranoia was completely justified. His daughter is captured by Albanian terrorists who run what basically amounts to sex slavery and the trafficking of women. Mills offers them the chance to quit now, and of course they decline his offer. Immediately the first thought that came to mind when they said this was ?wrong answer?
So Mills begins to pretty much tear Paris apart in his search for his daughter, all the while leaving quite a headache for the local police. The film portrays well in my opinion just how far Mills is willing to go to save his daughter. There is pretty much no law he won?t disregard or boundary he won?t push, including resorting to torture and interrogation. While his methods are more than questionable, laws and bureaucracy probably mean little to someone has 96 hours until their child is lost forever. Also, I feel the film also makes some interesting social commentary about the people who run such ?businesses? and the horrors endured by the women forced into such circumstances.
Liam Neeson is pure liquid badass as Mills. I think they may have even had him sign a ?no bleeding? clause. At times though, I felt it was too easy for Neeson?s character. It never seemed like he was in any real danger, and none of the terrorists really posed a significant challenge to him. He weathers firefights without a scratch. Also, it seemed as though Neeson?s character was the only one to ever receive significant screen time, aside from his French contact.
As for special effects, there really aren?t any, or if there were, I didn?t really notice them, although that isn?t necessarily a bad thing. There were a couple of nice explosions, and the firefights were fairly cool, but other than that, nothing else really comes to mind. The sound was average I would say. I didn?t notice any sort of background music, and there wasn?t anything that left an impression, good or bad.
The action is definitely the big appeal of the film. It is intense and gritty. It also had some lines of dialogue that stayed with me long after the film was over. I found the interrogation scene in a run-down basement to particularly interesting, as this scene really for me hammered home that Mills would stop at nothing to find his daughter. It makes one wonder just what lengths someone would go to in his shoes. The story does a decent job of not only showing the horrors of sex-trafficking, but also of a father?s struggle to reconnect with his daughter and to be part of her life after so many years of absence.
Overall I liked Taken. Liam Neeson gives a solid performance. If you liked any of his previous roles, then I think you would like Taken. It has intense action, and is willing to bring up subjects most aren?t willing to think about. I know it left a lasting impression on me, and I know a film is good when it has me thinking about it long after it is over. I definitely recommend seeing Taken.
