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Released: 30 February 2009
Director: Pierre Morel
Distributor: 20^th Century Fox
Budget: $25 million
Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Arben Bajraktaraj, Olivier Rabourdin, Gérard Watkins, and Famke Janssen

The Plot:
Former CIA operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) employs his unique set of skills to track down his teenage daughter, Kim (Grace), after she is kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers while vacationing in France.

The Background:
Taken began life as the brainchild of filmmakers Luc Besson and Pierre Morel, who had previously collaborated on District 13 (Morel, 2004). Besson pitched the film’s premise to Morel over dinner one night and, after the film was financed and Liam Neeson was cast, Morel jumped at the chance to direct. After Jeff Bridges dropped out of the starring role, Neeson enthusiastically accepted; though he initially expected Taken to be released straight to video, the actor relished the opportunity to take on a more gritty, physically demanding role and his no-nonsense efficiency as Bryan Mills would garner him significant praise. Considering its low budget, Taken proved to be a surprise hit upon release; it received the second highest Super Bowl weekend at the time on its opening weekend and went on to gross nearly $230 million at the box office. Taken largely impressed with critics, who praised the hard-hitting action and thrilling plot, though some criticised it for being somewhat mindless and the Albanian government began a tourism campaign to counteract the film’s negative portrayal of their country. Still, the film’s incredible box office success saw the release of not only two sequels (which failed to live up to the standards of this original film) but also a short-lived prequel television series, and I’m always happy to revisit it and today seems like the perfect opportunity since it’s Liam Neeson’s birthday!

The Review:
Taken is the story of Bryan Mills, a former Green Beret who worked for the CIA as a “Preventor”; we never learn from the film exactly what this means but it’s pretty obvious that he was some kind of black ops specialist, proactively targeting and eliminating threats to national security before they can develop, or tackling them when they do. Though getting on a bit in years, Bryan hasn’t retired from his line of work due to age; instead, he walked away from his violent and secretive job in order to be closer to his teenage daughter, Kim, since his work meant that he missed out on much of her childhood despite his best efforts to be as present as possible. His former lifestyle caused much tension between him and his with, Lenore Mills-St John (Janssen), leading to their divorce and her subsequent remarriage to wealthy business tycoon Stuart St John (Xander Berkeley). A meticulous and fastidious man by nature, Bryan leaves absolutely nothing to chance; he studied and examined a karaoke machine for some time before finally deciding it was the right machine to get his daughter for her birthday to help encourage her dreams of being a pop star, used his former connections to do a thorough background check on Stuart and keep tabs on his business deals in order to ensure that his family was in the safest environment possible, and even tackles the wrapping of gifts with a military precision. A man of strict routine, Bryan doesn’t just believe in being prepared: he lives for it, and applies this philosophy to everything in life, from cooking to keeping his appointments and even the work he does on the side with his former colleagues, Sam Gilroy (Leland Orser), Mark Casey (Jon Gries), and Bernie Harris (David Warshofsky).

Although very much retired from his old life, Sam and the others keep in touch with Bryan and they regularly socialise; though Bryan has no wish to talk about the old days and instead focus on rebuilding his relationship with Kim, he is coerced into signing up for a security detail for pop star Sheerah (Holly Valance) to try and help open doors for Kim. Despite Leone resenting Bryan for his absence over the years, he actually has a very close relationship with his daughter; she’s genuinely excited to see him whenever they meet and they have a bond over her dream of wanting to be a singer, something Lenore believes she’s grown out of. Their relationship isn’t as developed as it could be, however, since Kim is clueless about the specifics of Bryan’s former job, is too young to really appreciate what he’s sacrificed to be closer to her, and Lenore’s influence is also clearly a factor, too. Clearly wanting to keep Bryan at arm’s length, Lenore does everything possible to downplay Bryan’s involvement in her life, from trying to keep him from personally gifting his birthday present, to refusing to allow Kim to sleep over at his place, and to supervising their meetings. Unable to compete with Stuart’s excess of wealth, which threatens to turn Kim into a spoiled brat, Bryan nevertheless believes that he finally has a golden ticket to ensuring Kim’s love and gratitude after he defends Sheerah and she repays him by giving the name of her vocalist and manager. Unfortunately, Kim’s passion has shifted towards wanting to take a trip to Paris with her friend, Amanda (Katie Cassidy), something Bryan is initially extremely hesitant to sign off on since he’s not only fiercely protective of his daughter but is only too aware of the dangers posed by the outside world. After a roasting from Lenore, and a great deal of preparation, Bryan eventually agrees to let her go on the proviso that she call him the moment she lands and keep him well informed of her movements and travel plans, which is the best compromise he can reach beyond actually accompanying her. Although he’s clearly apprehensive about the idea of Kim going out into the world essentially by herself and without supervision, he goes along with it in order to keep her happy but is quickly proven to be right when Kim and Amanda are targeted at the airport by Peter (Nicolas Giraud), a mark for an Albanian sex trafficking ring.

Bryan’s initial frustration at learning the Kim has lied about her trip (they were actually going to be following U2 around Europe) is replaced by a stoic combination of fear and anger when he listens, first-hand, as the Albanians break into Amanda’s apartment and kidnap them both. Bryan’s nature and training kick in immediately, however; fully aware that Kim is going to be taken by her abductors, he orders her to describe them in as much detail as possible and delivers an ominous threat to her attackers that has since become one of cinema’s most iconic lines. Bryan wastes no time in confronting Lenore and Stuart for more information, using their resources to fly to Paris, and enlisting Sam and the others to provide the horrifying details behind the Albanian sex traffickers who are prominent in France and Europe. Known for targeting naïve teenager girls, the group abducts them, addicts them to heroin, and sells them as sex workers; although Sam is able to identify one of the abductors as mobster Marko Hoxha (Bajraktaraj), he also tells Bryan he statistically only has ninety-six hours before Kim is lost forever, though this is more than enough to set Bryan to work on his brutal investigation. After Peter is left dead as a result of Bryan’s questioning, Bryan turns to old friend and former French intelligence agent Jean-Claude Pitrel (Rabourdin), who points him towards a known Albanian red-light district but strongly advises against causing a mess in France. Having long since left active field work, Pitrel is more concerned about keeping his cushty desk job than tackling organised criminals, a mistake that leaves Bryan with no choice but to violently confront him in his house when he uncovers evidence of corruption in the French police department. Bryan’s investigation sees him making ample use of his time to study his tape recording and go over his notes, posing as an unassuming man and employing a local translator to track the Albanians to a construction yard, where he finds both Kim’s jacket and many of their victims being dosed up on drugs. This leads him to Marko, whom he confronts after appropriating Pitrel’s name and rank; although he’s too late to help Amanda, his subsequent torture of Marko leads him to a sex slave auction behind held by the affluent Patrice Saint-Clair (Watkins) and bringing the action and tension of the film to a dramatic climax as Bryan single-handedly infiltrates the auction and the private yacht of sheikh Raman (Nabil Massad) in order to rescue Kim.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Considering the entire plot of the movie is focused on Bryan’s desperate quest to rescue his daughter, it should be no surprise that family is a prominent theme in Taken. Bryan and Lenore have a frosty relationship after years of what she sees as neglect since he spent most of Kim’s life choosing his job over his family; Bryan and Stuart also struggle to be civil since he (as in Bryan ) is disgusted by their affluent lifestyle and naivety about the dangers of the real world. Bryan is, however, absolutely devoted to Kim, encouraging her dreams, and trying to build his relationship with her. No matter where he was or what he was doing, he always came home for her birthday; he takes pictures of her for his scrap book, and walked away from his job (which he clearly loves) to focus on her. This fatherly devotion is perhaps Bryan’s most poignant and relatable characteristic; he uses all of his resources to quickly get a lead on her and follow her to Paris and continually stays one step ahead of the local police thanks to his unique set of skills. He repeatedly shuns Pitrel’s requests that he obey the local laws and goes to any lengths, routinely torturing and killing men, to work his way towards Kim. His paternal devotion is so strong that he cares for a victim of the sex traffickers (Héléna Soubeyrand) as a proxy to Kim, is clearly devastated to find Amanda dead of a drug overdose, and repeatedly puts himself in harm’s way, going lengthy periods without sleep and taking on multiple armed opponents at once, to rescue his beloved daughter.

In this manner, Taken is a very different film for Liam Neeson, one that greatly emphasises the mental and physical intensity of his character. Bryan is an extremely driven and focused man with a keen attention to detail; having travelled all over the world and dealt with the very worst of humanity, he is not only well versed in the ugly side of life but also somewhat jaded by it. Once Kim is kidnapped, however, he snaps immediately into action and uses every resource available to track her down, putting the local police to shame since they turn a blind eye to such atrocities. Bryan is an incredibly resourceful and attentive individual; able to operate without sleep for days and instantly reacting to danger with a quick, efficient brutality, he wastes no motion in being fancy with his blows and instead strikes his opponents in tender spots such as the throat and the ribs in order to incapacitate them. Bryan isn’t some roided up action hero who heads into situations all guns blazing; he meticulously plans and prepares for every confrontation, usually adopting an unassuming guise in order to catch his opponent’s off-guard and is rarely taken by surprise. He’s easily able to outwit Pitrel’s attempts to monitor and contain him, mercilessly beats and guns down multiple opponents with a slick effectiveness, and ends fist fights almost as soon as they begin with a targeted, military precision. This results in some of the most brutal and exciting fight scenes in modern action cinema; while Taken lacks the overly choregraphed pizzazz of other action films, it more than makes up for it with quick, intense scenes of Bryan chopping guys in the neck, dislocating and breaking limbs, and overpowering them with his unmatched efficiency. And, for those who prefer more traditional action, some intense car chases and more explosive moments are peppered throughout, alongside a particularly harrowing scene where Bryan tortures Marko using electrical cables.

Honestly, this was such a breath of fresh air back when I first watched it and, even now, it’s still a blast to watch through. More of an intense action thriller rather than a traditional action film, Taken is full of memorable moments, such as Bryan’s iconic “I will find you” speech, the brutality of its fight scenes, and even amusing moments such as him posing as Pitrel while confronting Marko and his cohorts. Despite his inexhaustible determination, Bryan grows increasingly fatigued and desperate as the film progresses since he’s fully aware that he’s running out of time and stumbled into a plot that’s far more complicated than thugs selling girls for money. Infiltrating Saint-Clair’s luxurious establishment by posing as a waiter, Bryan learns that the girls are being displayed and sold as little more than meat for the unscrupulous and wealthy. Even when knocked out and strung up by Saint-Clair, Bryan proves more than resourceful and is able to fight his way out of his predicament, leading to a frantic last-minute rush to chase down Kim before she’s spirited off on Raman’s yacht. While still maintaining his brutal efficiency and methodical approach, Bryan is noticeably more vulnerable in the finale, where he receives quite a beating and even a few gunshot wounds as he tackles Raman’s bodyguards. Regardless of his fatigue and the pain of his injuries, Bryan remains an unrivalled force of nature here, dispatching the henchmen and even putting Raman down with a well-timed headshot when the sheikh holds Kim hostage at knifepoint. In the aftermath, no criminal proceedings are brought against Bryan, potentially because of Pitrel’s complicity in the events of the film, and his relationship with Kim (and Lenore and Stuart) is noticeably stronger as a result of his obsessive and thorough nature and violent skills ensuring her safety.

The Summary:
I absolutely love this film; I’ve always been a big fan of Liam Neeson but this really helped to make him a household name and not only marked a career resurgence for the actor but also kickstarted a sub-genre of action/thrillers that focused on older, highly skilled individuals putting their retired talents to good use against overwhelming odds. The depiction of a highly resourceful and dangerous individual putting his skills to work on a deeply personal endeavour is both thrilling and emotionally harrowing; Bryan is a fastidious and devoted father who employs a whole range of skills and means to track down his daughter, shaming the French police in his efficiency and ruthlessly working his way up the food chain chasing leads down to get one step closer to Kim. While not a flashy or overly choregraphed action film, Taken is an intense thriller whose fight, chase, and gunfight scenes are brutal, efficient, and right to the point, all of which help to characterise Bryan as a nigh-unstoppable force of nature. Yet, he’s also vulnerable and flawed; not only is he just a father trying to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, but he’s far from bulletproof and thus makes use of every resource at his disposal, even if it means breaking the law and torturing his victims to get closer to his goal. It’s a shame that the sequels didn’t quite live up to the standard set by this first film, but that doesn’t diminish how good Taken was, and still is, and it makes for an intense experience with every revisit.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Taken? Were you impressed with Liam Neeson’s foray into a more action-orientated role? What did you think to the central plot about sex traffickers? Did you find the film’s brutality and intensity enjoyable? What lengths would you go to to rescue someone you love? Were you a fan of the sequels and the TV show? How are you celebrating Liam Neeson’s birthday and what is your favourite Liam Neeson film? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave them below or drop a comment on my social media.