Taken (2008/I)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

23 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Die Zeit für Rache ist gekommen. (The time for revenge has come.)

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Human Trafficking | Translation | Shot In The Stomach | Extortion | Tattoo

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Taken (France)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

France:93 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Albanian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:MA | UK:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:15A | South Africa:16LV | Peru:14 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Doing this film propelled Famke Janssen to take action in the real fight against corruption. She now serves as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Brian is interrogating Marko he removes his tie and loosens his collar. When he returns to the light switch his tie has returned, only for it to be missing again on his next trip to the light switch.

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.

Probably the fastest 93 minutes of my life !

Wow - I had already read reviews of this movie, and with the writer being one of my favourite directors, Luc Besson, I just had to go see this movie as soon as possible...

I was not disappointed... I'm not sure if this was intentional but there were no trailers before the movie, so being thrown strait into the film unexpectedly with people whispering "is this it then ?" only helping build up some initial tension and excitement.

The film starts nicely, but with overtones of spy thrillers like "Day of the Jackal" coming to mind. Neeson seems a bit pityful at the start, but soon overturns that impression with a taste of his handywork after around ten minutes of the thriller.

Then, before you know it, it's over. 93 minutes, gone in a blur of fighting, fear, chasing and excitement at serious pace. The artwork and direction is nicely done, giving you the feeling of being the one attacking and the chair squirming feeling of being the poor gits who get annihilated in almost every way possible.

It was one of those films that I wanted to applause after the film, I actually clapped about three times, but no-one joined in... too afraid of being the only two people clapping I suppose...

Neeson was great, and I can't wait to see the movie many more times. I only gave it 9 out of 10, as it was too short ! The film could have been easily stretched to 2 hours in my opinion, with some more development and intimacy with the characters. But I guess this may have not made it so exciting... still, well worth the money to see this in the big screen.