It is a wise father that knows his own child.- William Shakespeare
What happens when the young, beautiful daughter is kidnapped in another nation? How does it feel when you find that your daughter, has become the victim of a nefarious gang? What would a father do, when his daughter is TAKEN?
Taken is the story of a father, who has to deal with the kidnapping of his daughter in France, and go all the way out to rescue her. Only the father in this case happens to be an ex CIA operative by the name of Bryan Mills( Liam Neeson), who is now leading a retired life, and alone. His career in the CIA, has taken a toll on his own personal life, his ex wife Lenore( Famke Jansenn) had divorced and later remarried a wealthy businessman, Stuart. Bryan however dotes on his young and beautiful daughter, Kim( Maggie Grace).
During a lunch arranged by Lenore, Bryan learns that he needs to sign a consent form, that would allow Kim to go on a tour to Paris, along with her friend Amanda( Kate Cassidy). He reluctantly agrees to it, just to ensure his daughter’s happiness. Though he is apprehensive about sending her, he can do nothing about it. Kim lands in Paris with Amanda, where they meet an attractive stranger named Peter( Nicolas Giraud), who suggest they stay in his apartment. Peter however turns out to be a crook, and soon, Kim witnesses Amanda being kidnapped by a gang, while talking to her dad. Bryan asks her to give information about the kidnappers, and soon Kim is also kidnapped.
Though his friend Sam, Bryan comes to know that Kim has been kidnapped by a group of human traffickers, who sell these girls into prostitution. That makes Bryan set out for Paris to get back his daughter from the Gang, which needs to be seen on screen.
Taken is a typical action masala flick, with good amount of fights, chases, explosions, and enough adrenaline to keep it going. In fact Bryan seems more like a typical Indian hero, as he dodges bullets, jumps from bridges, fights barehanded with a dozen guys, and not emerging with a single scratch. However the movie is quite enjoyable, the action scenes are excellent, and the tension is maintained. The pace never slackens, and the audience is kept on the edge of the seat, wondering what happens next, which is how it should be.
Also the character of Bryan Mills, though the hero, is quite gray. He does not mind shooting at his ex colleagues wife in Paris, just to get the information out of him. Ruthless, and single minded, he does not really care for ethics. One of the best scenes in the movie is where Bryan tortures one of the gang members into revealing information, very brutal, not easy to watch. But then it confirms the fact, that when you are up against a ruthless gang, you need to be as ruthless.
The kidnapping scene is well shot too, the camera work of a real high quality. As also the scene where Brian confronts Peter at the airport, and the final shoot out scene.
But more than anything else, it is Liam Neeson, who elevates what could have been a routine action flick, with a brilliant performance. Neeson who had given some top class performances in serious dramatic roles like Schindlers List, Rob Roy, Les Miserables in his career, proves he is equally excellent in the action stuff. Dignified, restrained and intense, his performance is a lesson to our big hyped up stars, who boast a lot and do nothing.
On the whole, a pretty watchable movie, thanks to Liam Neeson and some great action scenes. Go watch it.