The no-nonsense action thriller

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2009)

I must say that hearing about Liam Neeson in a French action movie kinda filled me with hope of seeing something different that the usual Bonds and I wasn't disappointed.
Surely, this isn't a 'deep' movie, it's pure adrenaline and the best part is that it doesn't try to pretend to be anything else.
Aside from this, the movies does break some of the 'action hero stereotypes'. Neeson doesn't see any innocents in his path. He beats his way to his daughter, the only one he protects (in a way) is his Albanian translator, but (for example) he shoots his former french contact's wife even though she had nothing to do with anything.
Neeson's hero does the talking and he simply expects answers. I loved the way he shot Saint-Clair every time he tried to say anything except the answer he was expecting or how he shot the kidnapper before the guy had a chance to offer a settlement (also his line 'To me it was always personal' when Saint-Clair explains it was only business - i waited ages for this line to shut up all the good/bad guys who claim their deed was 'just business', who cares what it was to you? to me it's different).
All in all, the movie presets itself nicely. The cinematography s OK, no funny motion effects to make you throw up, it's functional and it delivers.
The soundtrack is good, a combination between classic rock and some orchestral sound that adds to some moments, although not always in sync.
The acting is better than average for this kind of movies, though I'm sure everyone would agree that it doesn't take up a lot of talent. Still Neeson brings in some extra value.
Plot holes? Nothing major. The writers took care to make Neeson an ex-CIA which accounts for his access to contacts, intelligence and various equipments, not to mention his martial arts skill and dead-shot accuracy.
Speaking English in France is attributed to Albanians being new to Paris (God knows thugs don't go to school for years to learn a new language before going somewhere).
A couple of nags include Neeson escaping the police after stealing the cab (sure, the other lane was packed, but no police cars responded and came down his lane??) and escaping after being handcuffed to a pipe by loosening it (clearly he had to escape, but this is too close to Deus-ex-machina for an otherwise decent action script) and on top of that he escapes in one move, although the pipe was clearly longer than his arm-span (which would have required him to take at least a step back).
All in all, "Taken" is a very nice surprise this year, although if you want food for the brain and nag-free movie, look elsewhere.