Taken (2008/I)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They took his daughter. He'll take their lives.

Plot:

A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Stepfather | Car Crash | Shot In The Shoulder | Vigilantism

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Bryan Mills
Maggie Grace	...	Kim
Leland Orser	...	Sam
Jon Gries	...	Casey
David Warshofsky	...	Bernie
Holly Valance	...	Sheerah
Katie Cassidy	...	Amanda
Xander Berkeley	...	Stuart
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean-Claude
Gérard Watkins	...	St-Clair
Famke Janssen	...	Lenore
Marc Amyot	...	Pharmacist
Arben Bajraktaraj	...	Marko
Radivoje Bukvic	...	Anton (as Rasha Bukvic)
Mathieu Busson	...	Undercover agent

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Albanian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG-13 (cut version) | Australia:MA | UK:15 (edited version) | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:15A | South Africa:16LV | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Brazil:16 | UK:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Chile:Y7 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:15 (uncut version) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (DVD rating) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) (uncut version) | Hong Kong:IIB | Denmark:15 | Austria:16 | Iceland:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Near the end, Bryan jumps off of the "Pont des Arts," a pedestrian-only bridge in Paris. In the scene, the bridge is desolate, whereas most nights people flock there to socialize, drink wine, and play the guitar.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peter escapes out of the taxi and proceeds up the highway, you can see a clear path - no cars. However, when Liam Neeson's character proceeds after him in the taxi, you can see cars behind Peter. Where did those car's come from?

Quotes:

[first lines]
Singh: Mr. Mills, how are you?
Bryan: I'm fine. How are you?
Singh: Very fine. I suppose you want to see it again?
Bryan: You should know why I'm here.
Singh: You know where it is.
Bryan: Oh yeah.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Echelon Conspiracy/Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li/Crossing Over (#1.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

California Girls

Surprinsingly good - definitely must see

I'm still under the influence of this movie, so my comment is likely to be superlative! I went to this movie, knowing that one of the writers and the director were both French, and since I've seen some not-so-impressive movies (almost fell asleep), i was really skeptical.

BUT this one proved to be a great action movie. The best movie to compare with Taken is Hit-man. The idea is somewhat the same (lots of action, shots, flying bullets etc) - though the motive for the actions are not money. But the level of realism, the motivation of the character, the cold blood which moves him on makes this flick a good option to choose when selecting a movie.

Liam Neeson does a great performance, perfectly interpreting his role of a former spy. As he says in one of his lines, he's "retired, but not dead", having an opportunity to show everyone what he knows to do best.

The movie covers a hot topic too, kidnapping young women to force them to prostitute, and all the business this involves. You get to see the kind of people are supporting these arrangements and what it takes for the victims to be there.

Of course, the movie has (very small, almost invisible) drawbacks, like some lines in a wrong language (english instead of french) and some Rambo - stuff, but the overall impression is simple: a strong recommendation!