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Taken (2008)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
9/21, 11/21
9/21:
There's an unstoppable force in the universe, and it has a name: Liam Neeson.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But
what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a
nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will
not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
Bryan Mills is a nice, unassuming guy. But if anybody kidnaps his daughter Kim, Bryan will go after everybody involved until he
gets her back. Hence, Taken is a relentless action-packed picture that spares nobody. "Good luck"? Um...okay.
That being said, I was left entertained. Yeah, the believability factor is low, but the editing
is terrific and always on the ball. If people are surprised that Liam Neeson is capable of this, they shouldn't be.
He had done it before in Darkman and Rob Roy; hence,
action-adventure is nothing new for him. Liam thought the film would bomb, but it became a surprise hit, birthing a franchise.
At the beginning, it would be easy for me to say: look at this bitch ex-wife and look at her airhead daughter who's
materialistic beyond belief. That may be true, but the movie is about Bryan getting his daughter back. At the end,
nobody seems to have learned a lesson, and in front of the family he had already lost, Bryan is like, "Ah, it's no big
deal...just another day for me."
If there's anything I'm disappointed, it's that all women involved in human trafficking aren't important to Mills.
He's simply laser-focused in the mission of getting his daughter back. Strangely, after all that's happened, Kim is back to her
usual happy self when she should be depressed and out of it after returning home. Then again, she's stupid and
materialistic beyond belief.
All in all, Liam Neeson is a badass.
11/21:
After being initially impressed with Taken, I started to be bothered by one aspect: the unbelievability of it all.
The editing can be atrocious at times. It keeps jumping ahead without completing the previous shot fully; as a result,
Taken is a relentlessly fast movie that won't take a break for the slightest minute. Yet the action is entertaining.
Liam Neeson is the star and the only reason why the film works. Forget the daughter and ex-wife; they're simply
unlikeable. Who cares if the girl dies? As long as Liam wins at the end of the day, I'm fine with it.
All in all, Taken has flaws, but it's a good movie.