Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16278 in Movie
• Released on: 2009-11-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Running time: 94 minutes

Customer Reviews

Let God sort 'em out...
This is one of those great action movies where the hero isn't burdened by doubt, ineptitude, or guilt. He knows what he has to do and he does it coolly and ruthlessly! What he does is kill bad guys... Lots and lots of bad guys of all nationalities, races, and creeds who deserve what they get. Very efficient and ecumenical...

I lost count, but Liam Neeson must have killed about 50 bad guys in this one. And they keep on spawning so he has more to kill. I haven't seen one hero take on so many bad guys who keep on reproducing since Steven Segal made "Hard to Kill"...

The action is non-stop and the retribution is very satisfying. There is a lot of violence, but this is not an explicit blood and gore film. Just good old Hollywood movie violence that hits you at the gut level. "Taken" is a nice vicarious vigilante thrill for all the rest of us who must play by the rules. Liam Neeson does an excellent job! Highly recommended for action fans...

Liam goes into action mode to rescue his daughter!
I was skeptical when I heard that this movie would be produced by Luc Besson (The Professional, La Femme Nikita), the go to man or the French Joel Silver of action movies since some of his films have been hit and miss. This turns out to be a hit (it's already grossed $143 million thus far) thanks to the casting of Liam Neesom (Schindler's List; Rob Roy). A physically imposing actor of great presence, Neesom brings this physicality to the role of an retired CIA man brought back into action when his daughter is kidnapped in Paris. What ensues is 97 minutes of breakneck action and Neesom is totally convincing in this role. It may lack the complexity of the Bourne series but if you like your action movies to be lean and mean--this is the flick to see!!

24 on Crack
The US version of this movie is a little different than the one released overseas (I specifically remember two fairly violent scenes that were edited out), but it's still amazing. I remember watching the trailer in the theater and leaning over to my friends with a look of glee and amazement. We all knew we were going to see that movie on opening night.

And we did.

It did not disappoint.

It takes a minute to get rolling, but I think it only felt that way because the movie is so short (I think it's about an hour and a half long). It doesn't feel like very long, though, as, once the action starts, it blows you away. It's quick, gritty camera angles that really make the film come alive. Some of the violence is so out there, yet realistic, that you have to cringe when you watch it.

At it's heart, it's about a man, desperate to find and save his daughter, and willing to employ any means necessary to get her back. As the title of this review suggests, it's a little like 24 - okay, a LOT (with one scene ripped straight out of day 5, fans will know what I'm talking about), the man's daughter's name is Kim and she's been kidnapped and he's gotta do crazy bad things to get her. It's enough to hold me over until the real 24 movie is out, BUT, it's good enough in its own right.

I love Liam Neeson in this role, if only because I was surprised that he could pull it off. I kept hearing Aslan as he was making death threats and it was a little disconcerting. But he makes me believe he's Brian Mills in every second of the movie. The only thing I didn't believe was that he and Lenor were ever married. They just didn't click. At all. Maybe it's good that they divorced!

It's definitely worth the rent, but even more so, it's worth the buy. I can't wait until it's released on DVD.