Taken (2008/I)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They took his daughter. He'll take their lives.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Stepfather | Car Crash | Shot In The Shoulder | Vigilantism

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Albanian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG-13 (cut version) | Australia:MA | UK:15 (edited version) | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:15A | South Africa:16LV | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Brazil:16 | UK:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Chile:Y7 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:15 (uncut version) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (DVD rating) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) (uncut version) | Hong Kong:IIB | Denmark:15 | Austria:16 | Iceland:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Near the end, Bryan jumps off of the "Pont des Arts," a pedestrian-only bridge in Paris. In the scene, the bridge is desolate, whereas most nights people flock there to socialize, drink wine, and play the guitar.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peter escapes out of the taxi and proceeds up the highway, you can see a clear path - no cars. However, when Liam Neeson's character proceeds after him in the taxi, you can see cars behind Peter. Where did those car's come from?

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Echelon Conspiracy/Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li/Crossing Over (#1.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

California Girls

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.