Don't Lie To Your Daddy Unless He Can Bail You Out

Rating: 8/10 (28 February 2009)

Pierre Morel's Taken is only the second film he has directed, but it is very solid work. It is obvious that he takes pains in using his experience in operating the cameras to make sure the visuals are very well done. This movie is short, but to me the length is an advantage.
Surprisingly, there is a fair amount of time in the beginning of the film taken (no pun intended) to develop the story and the characters. We find out quickly & efficiently that daddy is divorced and his daughter is turning 17. Daddy is trying to bond more with his daughter but mommy seems to be throwing up road blocks & isn't very good at communicating with daddy.
Daddy is then shown doing his job which is person protection of a female rock singer. This shows a little of what daddy does for a living and introduces some plotting to the picture. Then daughter springs a big lie on Daddy about going to Paris in the summer & lies to mom too about where she is going to be because the daughter has been lied too by her girl friend too.
Now the blonde girlfriend (Amanda) doesn't get developed too well except her main interest for the summer seems to be going to Paris and getting laid all summer. When the daughter gets to Paris she becomes apprehensive of what Amanda has gotten her into, especially when she finds out they have a Paris Apartment to themselves for the summer. Amanda does get laid, but not the way she intended too.
Both girls are taken by Algerian terrorists who drug them to make them sex slaves. Luckily the daughter calls daddy who tries to reason with the terrorist but is told "Good Luck" by Marko. From this point on, the film is almost non-stop action but action which moves the story along.
The best thing besides being direct about this film is the action sequences are done well. The story pulls the viewer in and we feel great satisfaction when all the bad guys keep getting taken out, one after another. Very good film, not sure when DVD comes out if it might have some extra scenes. It might but the form being shown in the theater now is pure satisfaction.