It's Not All Jake with Me

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 2009)

Intentionally, or not, Taken (2008) is essentially an "A" remake of a 1986 "B" picture, Jake Speed. In both pictures, two young women visiting Paris are kidnapped by slavers. In both pictures, a "larger than life" hero pursues the villains. And in both pictures, one woman is saved, but the other is not.
In the earlier film, Jake, the hero, may, in fact, be a superhero (although that possibility is never answered), and Jake's pursuit also takes him into Africa for most of the picture, but otherwise, both plots are pretty much the same.
Taken does, however, have a faster pace, a more unified setting, and, in general, better acting.