Action packed and unsettling, but not in a good way

Rating: 4/10 (10 August 2009)

I watched this film with a group of friends having noticed it on the shelf for a while at the store. The packet proudly boasting "extended harder cut" and other such stuff about revenge, brutality etc.
It wasn't what initially attracted me to the film, more that I was interested to see what that would mean with Liam Neeson in the lead roll and a reputation to think off - as opposed to films such as "Hostel" where the actors are less well known. It turns out that the accuracy of the taglines was about all this film had going for it.
The basic plot (SPOILERS FROM NOW) is that Neeson is some kind of retired covert agent who loved his country more than his family, leading his wife to leave him and take their daughter too, though they've managed to keep a relationship despite his wifes efforts. Daughter tells Neeson one day she wants to go to France with her friend for a week alone, he's massively against it but is eventually worn down, and allows her to go - and then would you adam and eve it, no sooner have the daughter and her friend gotten to France and put their bags down, when some masked men break in and kidnap the pair of them! Typical!
Fortunately she was on the phone to daddy at the time, and he soon whisks over to France to track them down and save the day, using brutal violence and an incredible ability to dodge bullets.
Now as a dumb action movie I could sit through that plot quite happily, but the first issue comes with the reason for the kidnapping, the girls are being taken into sex slavery. To me this is a real and disturbing topic that should only feature when there is something real and relevant to be said about the situation, yet in Taken it is used purely for shock scenes along the unpleasant lines of films such as "Hostel", and the route through this topic to it's resolution becomes so absurd I found it insulting to the reality which god knows how many women have to suffer through. It seemed very bad taste. Following that the other issues for me are more down to bad plot/acting etc.
Neeson - his character is the LUCKIEST super spy! The suspension of disbelief required to accept what he is capable off is ridiculous. Dodging bullets at point blank, tracking down all those involved from a voice on the phone and sitting in an airport, always picking the right door/person/clue. Again, when you have a man running round like the Terminator it cheapens the reality of the situation his daughter and her friend are in.
His family - Neesons wife is the uber bitch, his daughter is a 17 year old perfect, innocent virgin - she still loves horses and wants to be a singer when she grows up, she even still calls Neesons character daddy... and she run's like she got hit by a car (see the airport scene). The roles are played well enough but the characterisation is so clichéd it's painful.
The police - all useless, and if not useless - in on it. Apparently kidnap is such a regular occurrence in Paris they don't even bother investigating it any more. Good thing there's an American coming over to sort filthy old Europe out!
The gangsters - idiots. The most painful scene being when they believe Neeson (who's character lets not forget is an American agent) to be the french chief of police purely because he turns up at their door in a long coat with a business card... still with an American accent, and promptly begins to discuss rates for their operation. You would have thought these criminals would know what the chief of police would look like, especially when they tell Neeson they met him just last week to arrange the police's cut!
There's also the obligatory product placement of phones, cars and other electricals, but perhaps the biggest joke of this film is who they expect you to believe Neesons daughter is the number one fan of... Holly Valance. Yep. Holly Valance. Perhaps the most tortuous scenes of all being Neeson speaking to his daughter over the phone in Hollys presence - "You'll never guess who I'm with, yes really, I'm in the room with her now - I know, it's incredible!"
So that's basically it. Were it not for the sex trafficking topic, this film could be just a dumb, clichéd action movie. But to treat such a subject so crassly and with nothing really to be said left a very bad taste in the mouth, and at the end left me feeling very uncomfortable, as if I'd been a part of something seedy.
This film was certainly not of the calibre I would expect of a respected actor such as Liam Neeson, and having watched it I am surprised he agreed to the role. I am also surprised by how highly this film is rated, my guess being those ratings based on the action elements - which are fast paced, exciting and intense - but for me could not make up for the negatives.
***If you have seen this film you may also agree that there is no amount of times Neesons character should be able to turn to his wife and scream "I told you so!!!" That could be a 20 minute DVD extra on it's own!