Taken - Movie Poster

Taken – Movie Review

ByChris Updated on
3 Comments

Now I won’t lie, I was very late to the party with this one. It actually took me a few years to get around to seeing it. In all honesty I think I was put off by the original trailer when the film was first released, but I did eventually get round to watching Taken when it was broadcast on TV earlier this year.

Liam Neeson plays an ex-CIA agent who has issues with his ridiculously annoying and spoiled daughter (Maggie Grace from Lost) going to Paris when she’s only 17 years old. Thankfully for us, she buggers off regardless and then spends most of the film being kidnapped meaning that we don’t have to spend that long listening to her whining. That said, the film was a bit of a slow starter, but once she is ‘Taken’ it’s action stations all the way.

To say that Liam Neeson plays a bit of a badass is putting it lightly. Let’s face it, he’s not a young man any more but he can still pull off being the action hero if you can suspend your disbelief for entertainment’s sake. But make no mistake, he is a big guy, you’d be a fool to mess with him.

There is lots of fun to be had here watching Liam Neeson lay enemy after enemy to waste (there do seem to be a lot of them?) I especially like the scene where he confronts the men who actually took his daughter – earlier in the film he spoke (or rather shouted down the phone) to them “I will find you, and when I do, I will kill you!” Later in the film… “You don’t remember me do you… I told you I’d find you”.

Good stuff, one for action and thriller fans and still worth coming back to even if you were late to the party like me. That said, I’m not overly excited at the prospect of seeing Taken 2, but I’ll probably get round to it eventually… and I’ll probably be thoroughly entertained again.

My Rating: 7/10

About the Author: Chris Russell has a passion for movies, films and cool TV shows and loves to share that passion here on Movie Retrospect where readers can join the discussion in the comments below or via our socials. If you enjoyed this post, please follow @MovieRetrospect on X / Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Chris loves movies, films & cool TV shows and loves to share that passion here on Movie Retrospect. If you enjoyed this post, please follow @MovieRetrospect on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

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3 Comments

  1. Good film, I enjoyed the classic line over the telephone "If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career…"
    Personally, I would have given this an 8. It managed to steer clear of any obvious 'Bourne' comparisons and was entertaining.
    I'm not too sure about the upcoming sequel as it continues the same story line and bad guys, and will likely lack the originality of the first film – but I will of course give it a chance!
    Good review!

  2. I was too; thanks for such a great review! I would hope for the sake of our country in which a retired father, who formerly worked in the field for the CIA, would be just like Liam Neeson's character. My co-worker from Dish, and I watched this film Monday night since we are both away from our families. Neeson is fantastic and the film was almost everything I had hoped for; the only question I had was regarding his daughter and her bubbly personality at the end of the film in the airport. Did anyone else think that was strange? Since we were both away on business this week, it was nice to have an alternative way like Dish Online, to watch a great movie. I’m not a big sequel gal, but I will see “Taken 2”, and I hope I enjoy it as much as the first.

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