you will feel as though you've been "taken"...wait for free cable

Rating: 4/10 (7 February 2009)

Ouch!
An hour gone by since leaving the theater and I am still recovering from the painful, excruciating 93 minute experience called TAKEN; A film so weak, and terrible from plot to script, to flow, to acting, that I cannot bear to hash over the detail. If you are debating on whether to see it, or if you should trust the high IMDb score, help yourselves and trust me: wait for it to appear on free cable.
TAKEN lacks depth at all levels, and it pains me to slam it like this. Honestly, I am torn. Liam Neeson is one of my favorite actors and I'd like to give any movie he is in props just for having him in it. But I can't do it for Taken. The only reason I did not walk out of the theater is that I believed - hoped, there was a good reason for an actor of Neeson's depth, and resume of riches, to contract for such drivel.
But there is something bigger here than my opinion of this movie: the high IMDb score noted above.
I read several of the very favorable reviews and found them suspiciously lopsided, and written with unnatural professionalism. All I can think is either: a) I just don't get this movie and something is wrong with me; or b) IMDb has been corrupted by a vast Hollywood conspiracy.
Here's my theory: the economic recession has turned the porn industry flaccid, leaving a great swath of affordable real estate in the San Fernando Valley, and leagues of unemployed writers willing to "work for food", in this case: sign a non-disclosure agreement and write fraudulent reviews to falsely inflate IMDb scores and deceive moviegoers, driving them to see films, rent DVDs etc, all for the benefit of those along the money chain.
Unlike some of the other mediocre reviews, I cannot even give high marks for the action or fight choreography. Yes there's lots of it. But it's so over-the-top, with Neeson going virtually unscratched after dodging a thousand bullets and countless mano-a-mano encounters, it is just silly.
So, Mr. Neeson, please forgive me, and please get busy on Rob Roy: the Golden Years.