Taken

Released: 2008

Review Date: 10.25.09
Star rating: 5 out of 5

Liam Neeson (Bryan), Maggie Grace (Kim), Leland Orser (Sam), Katie Cassidy (Amanda), Holly Valance (Sheerah), Xander Berkeley (Stuart), Gerard Watkins (St-Clair), Famke Janssen (Lenore).

When Kim and Amanda go to Paris on vacation together the last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by human traffickers and sold into forced prostitution. And the last thing the kidnappers expected was Kim's tenacious father Bryan dedicating his special forces and spy skills to finding Kim and ending their lives.

This one kicks off with character development and background in the form of a soft and sweet drama centered around Amanda's divorced parents Bryan and Lenore. Suddenly, the film kicks into overdrive with suspensful drama and action that has you on the edge of your seat in moments. Get comfy, because it doesn't slow down until the very end and even then I was expecting some incredible event that would set the movie up for a sequel. And I do hope they make a sequel! The action, suspense, and drama in this film were delicious. The plot was really pretty simple but the delivery was very well done. Nice action mixed with very few slow moments kept the plot moving and the tension level very high throughout the movie.

Acting was very nicely done by Neeson. This role fit him well and he played the part almost perfectly. Never being a huge Neeson fan, I was impressed with him in this movie. Supporting work by everyone else in the film was also nicely done.

Camera work, sets, background, and sound were all well done and added to the quality of the film. Dialogue was a bit of a challenge at times with a couple of other languages beside English and a variety of heavy accents.

Overall this was a very well done crime thriller or action film that I'm sure to watch again. If you like the genre, put this one at the top of your Must See list. No nudity, sexuality, or serious foul language so the biggest concern here with younger viewers would be the plentiful violence and explaining the world of human slavery. Mid-teens and above should be fine with this one.