(Not Exactly) The "Frantic" of The 21 Century

Rating: 5/10 (17 June 2009)

There is no denying that "Taken" does belong to the group of mediocre no-brainer action movies. As a story, it moves from point A to B to C with a lot of stylized, violent action in between. But all the same, there is something very rewarding about it. Being a classic vendetta story of a father (with a CIA past) finding his kidnapped daughter in a foreign country, the movie becomes much more personal to watch than most other movies of the same caliber, and a huge part of that, if not entirely, is thanks to Liam Neeson, who plays the role with an emotional fervor only he can pull of. Similar to "Frantic" (1988) in both nature and setting (but with much more violence), "Taken" sets up a hopeless situation and brings the viewer along on a ride of revenge. The only problem is, we kind of already know where it ends.