Taken Movie Blurb by Shale February 1, 2009 I got out to the Cineplex today and on my to see list was Taken, which by the trailers I figured was a Bourne type movie where an ex secret agent is single handedly taking on the bad guys. Yep, it was that and more, with explosions, car chases, unbelievable fight scenes where the bad guys meet a painful torturous death as promised. Poster "I Will Kill You" The story is about retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (56-year-old Liam Neeson) whose career cost him his marriage to Lenore (Famke Janssen) and estrangement from his daughter Kim (25-year-old Maggie Grace playing 17 very well). Kim wants to go to Europe and daddy needs to consent. He has misgivings, knowing what a dangerous world it is out there but his ex and daughter convince him he's just paranoid and overprotective because of his job. (I know this feeling from when I was a cop. When you see what evil is in the world your heightened awareness can be seen as paranoia). So, Kim goes off to Paris and guess what? Yep, immediately gets kidnapped for the sex trade. She frantically calls daddy as the abduction is going down and he instructs her on what to do to increase his chances of rescuing her. Kim before being taken The rest of the movie is daddy going to get his daughter back, using his lifetime of skills to get past the bad guys and the cops. Good ride. Mad Daddy After the movie, I was constructing this little blurb on the bike ride home. Wanted to tell you how Neeson really conveyed the angst of a parent to a teen daughter that I could connect with. (Yeah Ros, did you ALWAYS call home as expected?) Wanted to tell you that this movie was surprisingly better than Bond or Bourne. I was even going to tell you how satisfied I felt after the movie when the bad guys predictably met their justifiable end. (Justice is so lacking in our world that it is embarrassing how this vegetarian pacifist can inwardly relish the pain inflicted by vigilantes from Charles Bronson to this movie) Anyhow, I had all this planned out to write and as usual, read a movie review after the fact. Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald already WROTE WHAT I WANTED TO SAY! So, go read his review: http://www.miami.com/taken-pg-13-article I was planning to say something identical to: "A word of caution to any teenage girls planning to spend their summer vacations in Europe: Do not let your parents anywhere near Taken... "Fortunately, Kim's father Bryan (Liam Neeson) happens to be a retired ex-CIA agent, one badass enough to make Jason Bourne and James Bond cower and beg for mercy..." ...seeing Neeson wreak great and painful havoc on the men who have kidnapped his daughter ... are all in the spirit of the rousing B-picture Taken really is. It excels at making you feel really good when the bad guys get theirs, which happens constantly ...
