Taken Seriously

Rating: 5/10 (4 July 2018)

I wonder if Bryan Mills read the case files of John W. Creasy before he went to retrieve his kidnapped daughter four years after Creasy's bloody rampage. Hmmm.
You want no-holds-barred revenge? No sympathy, no mercy and no escape? Meet the established unforgiven Creasy as he takes on his new role of bodyguard to safeguard an insurance policy. Oh, and a little girl in Mexico City.
Extremely bad hombres or "professionals," are kidnapping citizens in Latin America at an alarming rate. This is one of those stories.
After what seems like the LONGEST OPENING ACT IN CINEMA HISTORY, or roughly 34.25% of the full movie, they've established the unredeemable "hero" and drunk becomes lovable to both the audience and the little girl he's hired to protect. Bam! Surprise, she's kidnapped. After a botched ransom drop-off, Creasy's bent on revenge against the organization who kidnapped his little friend.
And "revenge" is putting it mildly. What he does to these disgusting humans would make Satan flinch.
Problems. You have to get used to a shaky cam. It's Director Tony Scott's signature move, but it's enormously distracting for the most part. Okay, all parts. Also, as stated, it takes an enormous time to get to the goods. Literally all he's trying to establish in those first 50 minutes could've been summed up in one quarter the time or less.
I only saw this movie once and near the time it came out, around 2004+. That was about 14 years ago and I remembered only one scene - hint: it showed more uses for a car's cigarette lighter than just for smokes. So, this was like a fresh viewing for me and still I could predict practically all that was going to happen. It's not hard to figure out the story - even with the camera abruptly shaking every few moments.
Now, the positives are worth the whole experience. Denzel Washington (Creasy,) as always, was fantastic. Believable human being from start to finish. The supporting cast, including Christopher Walken and Rachel Ticotin, also very good. I did like the cinematography and the unapologetic and brutal/true view of the "interrogations" from Creasy.
RIP Scott, and I know what he was trying to accomplish in this movie, especially in the opening 34.25%, but seriously, read my synopsis above and skip to about 45 minutes into this. That's about how much could've been cut from this overlong film to make it tighter and so that we could get to the actual plot.
This uses the backdrop of Mexico City and all the kidnappings from horrible and vile people. But, really, this is Denzel's movie. Any true fan of Denzel needs to see this excellent performance of his. Well, those people and people who wanna see the bad guys really, REALLY pay for their greedy sins.
***
Final thoughts: In-between 24's Jack Bauer and Taken's Bryan Mills is John Creasy. If you liked the first two I mentioned, you'll warm right up with Creasy. Heck, throw in The Transporter's Frank Martin and have a TV/Movie marathon. So, watch, in any particular order: 24: Season 8, Taken (avoid the sequels,) The Transporter 2 (#1 is optional, but #2 fits more here) and Man on Fire. Now that...would leave anyone exhausted from all the eye-for-an-eye blows and still pleased with the ride.