Movie Review & Synopsis Taken
Liam Neeson is a Dangerous Ex-CIA Agent Hunting for his Daughter
Feb 9, 2009
Showing a starkly contrasted view of Paris, a city often portrayed for its romance, Taken delves into the dark and seedy world of human trafficking and the sex trade.
Liam Neeson Has Special Skills
Ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills’ (Liam Neeson) former career has left him highly skilled and dangerous, but years of guarded secrets and long hours on the job have torn apart his family. His ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) moved away with their daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) to live with new, wealthy husband Stuart (Xander Berkeley). Bryan’s attempts to reconnect with his daughter fall short again as he visits Kim on her 17th birthday.
Struggling to grow closer to his daughter Bryan reluctantly agrees, after a tearful row, to allow Kim to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). After giving his daughter a cell phone and a strict set of rules Bryan drives Kim to the airport so she can fly off for her vacation of a lifetime.
Paris is for Killers
As soon as the girls land in Paris they meet the young and handsome Peter (Nicolas Giraud) and obligingly share a taxi. Arriving at the apartment that belongs to Amanda’s cousins Peter parts ways suggesting they meet up later at a party. Excited but nervous, Kim tries to relax in preparation for their holiday as Amanda dances through the empty apartment unaware that Peter has marked them as targets.
Having not followed the first rule, to call her father after arriving in Paris, Bryan anxiously dials Kim’s cell. After missing one of his calls Kim grabs her phone and heads to a quiet part of the apartment to talk to her father. While explaining why she hadn’t phoned and telling Bryan that the cousins the girls were supposed to be visiting are not in fact home Kim sees a group of men enter the apartment. Terrified, as Amanda is grabbed from another room, Kim stammers for help. Bryan jolts into action instructing Kim to hide as he sets up his phone to record the last things his little girl says before she is taken.
Dangerous Times, Desperate Measures
Using his old agency contacts and the little information he got from Kim as she was abducted, Bryan learns that an Albanian gang has her. With only 96 hours before the chances of finding his daughter wither away and she is lost to a seedy sex trade Bryan once again becomes a man to be feared.
Arriving in Paris to find the gang and rescue his daughter, the hunt begins. Bryan works his way through the underworld ties of a large prostitution and human trafficking ring. Picking off tourist girls, the gang collects young women to force into the sex trade through drug addiction or sells them to the highest bidder. Caught up in the treacherous organization, Kim’s fate as a prize to be bought edges ever closer. In a desperate race to save his little girl Bryan tears across the city with ferocity leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake.
Relentless Action
The heart pounding pace of Taken will have audiences panting as they try to keep up. The story line is a hard driving thrill ride that is packed with action. Liam Neeson, once again, demonstrates his versatility and incredible onscreen presence as a one-man army on a mission. Fueled by adrenaline this movie sails along at a peak intensity relentlessly thrilling the crowd until the end.
