Taken (Blu-ray)

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Sometimes you just need a fun action film to sit back, relax and enjoy. French action master Luc Besson serves as writer and producer for "Taken" and Pierre Morel steps in as direction. Starring Liam Neeson, "Taken" is a fast paced and engaging film that may be light on the script, but far from short on heroic moments. Morel had previously served as cinematographer on the action filled films "Danny the Dog," "The Transporter" and War." His previous directing effort was the French film "Banlieue 13." Producer Besson is best known for his breakthrough films "Nikita" and "Leon: The Professional," but has been responsible for other classic titles such as "The Fifth Element," "The Transporter" and a host of others. The physically imposing Neeson is one of the finest actors alive today. He has worked across a host of genres and has been best received in his dramatic performances, but Neeson is no stranger to action films after starring in "Darkman," "The Phantom Menace" and "Batman Begins."

"Taken" is about retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Neeson), who is not living the high life while trying to become a respectable father for his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). He works gigs as concert security, but lives a very simple life and can hardly afford to buy his daughter a birthday present. He is divorced from his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), who has married a very wealthy man. They day after Kim´s birthday party she and her mother meet Bryan for lunch, where they ask him to sign a paper so that she can travel to France with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). Bryan is reluctant to let Kim go to a foreign country by herself and at first refuses to sign the paper. This infuriates Kim and shows the divide between Bryan and his family. However, the next day he shows up at their house with the paper signed to give permission to Kim to travel abroad, but has conditions attached to his signature.

Upon arriving in Paris, Amanda and Kim meet a young man who shares a taxi with them. Amanda lets the man know they are staying alone in the hotel and they are then invited to a party. The man quickly passes on the information that the two girls are alone to an unknown person. Kim has already angered her father when Bryan learns they are not staying in one place and are actually following Irish rock band U2 around Europe, but she angers him further by not sticking to the first condition she agreed to; she does not call him upon landing in Paris. Eventually, Kim does call her father on the phone, but during this time she watches Amanda being attacked through the window and realizes that she is in danger as her rented apartment has been broken into and she is in grave danger. Bryan talks her through the ordeal up until the point where she is ´taken.´ Bryan then talks to one of the kidnappers on the phone and alerts him that he is messing with the wrong father.

The story does not go into great detail and wastes no time in having Bryan utilize his special talents and friends to somehow find the identities of the Albanian men who kidnapped Kim. "Taken" doesn´t care to make the hunt a very long one and it isn´t long at all before Bryan is on the way to Paris to find those that have taken his daughter and unleash a deadly barrage of ass kicking that will eventually result in a death count of thirty three. He has to shoot his friend Jean-Claude´s (Olivier Rabourdin) wife in the leg and become a marked target of the Parisian police force while trying to find the location of his daughter, but Bryan is clearly outmatching his foes and "Taken" doesn´t waste any time in putting Bryan in deadly combat with a number of leads that will eventually lead him to the location of his daughter.

"Taken" is a fun film. It is exciting and if you try not to concern yourself with the little details, it is a thrilling ride. This isn´t a movie that concerns itself with plot holes or divulging a lot of information. Within moments of a phone call, the protagonist is able to identify the antagonists. There is hardly any drama leading up to the violence and if you were hoping for a film more in line with the Jack Ryan series of pictures, then you will be sadly disappointed as it takes roughly a half an hour before "Taken" becomes a series of events to show just how badassed the 6´4" Liam Neeson can be. This is an unapologetic action film that has a high body count and some very nicely choreographed fight scenes. There were a few times when I would have liked just a little more exposition, but as soon as the fists and bullets started flying again, I quickly forgot the film´s shortcomings.

"Taken" is essentially a one man show as Liam Neeson is on-screen much of the time and the supporting cast is not given a lot of screen time. Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen are the lead supporting actresses and they disappear for much of the film. Each spend a little time at the beginning half hour of the picture and the final minutes before the camera becomes firmly planted on Neeson. However, the very broad shoulders of the Irish actor have little problem bearing the load and you would be hard pressed to believe that the fifty-six year old actor is not capable of pulling off the deadly assault displayed in the film. Neeson is a very talented actor and is capable of portraying a very physically imposing presence and "Taken" would not have worked with an actor of lesser stature. This movie is all about showing that Neeson can be an effective action star and it succeeds easily in that goal. He is the star and he is the show.

Written by Luc Besson and veteran screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, "Taken" has a long lineage in the action genre. This is a very polished picture that does not pretend to be more than what it is. "Taken" is a balls-out action film that moves quickly and doesn´t stop until the film´s hero attains his goals. Besson knows his way around the genre and he has a way of adding depth and humanity to his leading actors and watching "Taken" can remind you in some ways of his early masterpiece "Leon: The Professional." The story uses the real-world problem of sexual slavery as a backdrop, but that isn´t given any more attention than what is necessary to move the plot along. This is not a film to bring recognition to slave trading and while the focus is on a father who was disconnected with his daughter, "Taken" doesn´t preach to the audience to be better parents. No, "Taken" concerns itself with being a thrill-a-minute action film and it succeeds handedly.