Sunday 8 November 2009

Film Review: TAKEN (2008)


Director: Pierre Morel
Writers: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen
Running time: 90 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 18

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 8th November 2009.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

A retired CIA agent, Bryan Mills, wants to re-connect with his 17 year old daughter, Kim, in L.A. His ex-wife, Lenore, has re-married and Bryan knows he cannot compete with Kim’s stepfather. Weary of the world, Bryan is very cautious when Kim announces that she wants to go off to Paris with a friend for the summer holidays. He eventually relents and they set off for their big adventure, not realising that not everyone they meet is as nice as they may seem.

Kim is on the phone to her father when she sees her friend Amanda being kidnapped; she knows she will be next, so Bryan tells her to shout out any details about them she can. Using these few clues, and with the help of some of his CIA colleagues, he goes to Paris to find her. What ensues is a very brutal investigation, in which no stone is left unturned in Bryan’s determined effort to find and rescue his daughter from the Albanian white slave traders who have taken her. I won’t go into details, but, believe me; it’s definitely not for the squeamish!

A thriller with plenty of well made action sequences, particularly the outside shots set in Paris. Plenty of explosions and lots of violence. Good performances from the leading cast members, Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, Maggie Grace as Kim, Olivier Rabourdin as Jean-Claude and Famke Janssen as Lenore, although Kim, played by Maggie Grace did come across is a bit whiney and annoying. The French police, and in particular the Albanians, came out of this quite badly, the Police for being corrupt and the Albanians for being slimy gangsters. I’m sure it’s not the case for all of them! Over all, if you like violent revenge thrillers then this is the film for you. If you’re a bit squeamish, I’d avoid it. Personally, I liked it a lot!

My score: 8/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/
Official Site: http://microsites.craveonline.com/taken/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi3488219417/

1 comment:

Live for films said...

I love this film. Nice review