"Taken" for a ride

Rating: 5/10 (23 January 2009)

Predictable from start to finish. Mediocre performances across the board, including Neeson, who you feel was stifled by the script and direction. An earlier review suggested this was very much like "Man on Fire". Believe me, they are worlds apart. On paper they tick very similar boxes, but where Man on Fire slowly built tension, made you care for the characters via stellar performances and solid dialogue, and plot twists aplenty, Taken merely plods though the usual juxtaposed strands to achieve it's superficial outcomes. Where you could almost feel the heat of Mexico City seeping out of the screen with Man on Fire, the arctic chill of emptiness and apathy blow through this. It's all thrown together quite nicely, with some impressive cinematography along the way, but as the saying goes, "you can put a dress on a pig, but it's still a pig".
Could have been worse. Could also have been a damn sight better.