Neeson's show

Rating: 6/10 (1 August 2009)

A former spy Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) travels to Paris where her daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) has been kidnapped and forced into the slave trade. Using his set of spy skills he tears down the city to find her before it's too late.
Taken (2008) is written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen and directed by the formers protégé Pierre Morel. The film has the same kind of "Besson" -vibe in it that there is also in the other projects he's been involved with and the film in that sense feels very homey and safe to sit through; the theme and plot of the movie on the other hand are far from homey or safe. The plot though is very thin and clichéd (especially in the beginning) and the characters are very narrow and one sided but the film's not really about neither one of those aspects: it's all about the thrilling atmosphere and Liam Neeson kicking some serious butt.
Liam Neeson is great in the leading role and he's the best the film has to offer; if it had been some one else than him in the role I probably wouldn't have been interested about the film. He's convincing as an aged former spy, beyond his best years but still more than capable in killing and torturing people. He's not a good guy, just a troubled father who goes as far as it's required to find what he's looking for. The supporting cast does a decent job but the film lives with Neeson's performance.
Pierre Morel does OK job directing the flick; along with Neeson's great performance, the film has a nice, fast pacing and the action is well filmed and brutal enough to fit the bleak situation the characters have to face.
This is Liam Neeson's show whether you like it or not, there's no question about that so it helps if you like the guy. It may be tough if you don't because the films assets are very much limited and Liam being the biggest one in that bunch. 3/4