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| Movie Review: Taken Alternate Title: Father Knows Best
Story: Daddy retires early from
the CIA to get closer to his 17 year old daughter who barely knows him.
Daughter lives an idyllic life in LA with her mother and her Uber-rich
step dad (she gets a horse for her birthday). Daughter gets kidnapped
by sex traffickers on a trip to Paris with a girl friend. Daddy gets
really pissed. The rest of this action-thriller is all about revenge.
Getting his daughter back safe and sound is the goal. Fasten your seat
belts.
Director Pierre Morel sets the
speed to fast forward and takes us on a wild ride through Paris. The
script, as sparse as it is, was written by Luc Besson
and Robert Mark Kamen. A film that is heavy on action
really does not require much dialogue. We get to know enough about the
characters to either cheer for them or boo at them. Bottom line is this:
Albanians, bad - avenging Dads, good.
If you are a fan of action thrillers, with decent
production values you will enjoy this film. Everyone else should take
a walk.
Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvUxdQ4q-Lg Acting: Liam Neeson as Dad, does a fine job of making
us believe he means business. Maggie Grace as daughter
Kim, was too old for the part and seriously annoying. Famke
Janssen as the mother does not have much to do but hand wring.
Trivia: Irish-born Liam Neeson worked
as a forklift operator for Guinness, truck driver, assistant architect
and an amateur boxer (where he got his nose broken). He has dated actresses
Helen Mirren, Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Barbra Streisand and singer
Sinéad O'Connor and is now married to Natasha Richardson. Model
turned actress Framke Janssen speaks Dutch, German,
English, and French. She has a Boston Terrier named Licorice and is
a Vegetarian.
Predilection: I like Liam Neeson despite his views
about horse drawn carriages in NYC.
Critters: None
Food: A bbq with steak and red wine.
Sex Spectrum: The film is about sex trafficking but
other than some bare skin there is no sex.
Soundtrack: Loud
Opening Titles: Other than the title of the film
all credits are at the end.
Theater Audience: About 30 other action fans.
Weather: The weather in Paris was perfect for revenge.
Squirm Scale: 0
Drift Factor: 0
Predictability Level: High
Tissue Usage: 0
Oscar Worthy: No
Big Screen or Rental: Either would be fine. Liam
Neeson has had a varied film career. Here are some of my favorite
films of his: Kinsey, Gangs of New York ,K-19: The Widowmaker, Star
Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Les Misérables, Michael
Collins , Before and After Rob Roy, Schindler's List, Ethan Frome,Darkman,
The Good Mother, Excalibur
Length: 90 action packed minutes
LOBO HOWLS: 6
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