Movie Review – Taken
This past weekend I saw Taken. It stars Liam Neeson, portraying Bryan Mills, and Maggie Grace (Shannon from Lost, for those of you that watch it), who plays Bryan’s daughter Kim. The plot is that Kim goes on vacation to Europe with her friend Amanda, and while there she gets “taken” (or kidnapped, whichever you prefer), hence the name of the movie. Being the protective father that he is, Bryan decides to go to Europe to get his daughter back.
Taken was very well done and there are lots of positive points. The plot is good and keeps you interested; it has its differences from other similar movies that make it original. Liam Neeson does a great acting job, and is very convincing in his role as an ex-secret agent. Anyone who’s seen the trailer will agree with me on that. There is a good amount of action in the movie that keeps you interested, including car chases, fights, and even an explosion.
On the negative side, there’s not much to say that’s bad about this movie. There’s a little bit of buildup in the beginning of the movie, but doesn’t hurt the movie enough to make it bad. It also, at times, seems like the breaks in between the action scenes may be a bit too long at times but once again, it doesn’t ruin the movie.
Overall, Taken is the first great movie of 2009. It will keep you interested and has a great mix of action and suspense, with a decent plot. The great acting job helps out too, and there are a few other familiar faces in the movie (Famke Janssen, [Jean Grey from X-Men] who plays Kim’s mom Lenore; and Xander Berkeley, who was in the first season of 24). Definitely check out this movie; you won’t be disappointed. I give this an 8/10.