Predictable plot but extremely engaging...

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2008)

Very few action movies have a very strong emotional motive for the protagonist. The protagonist of "Taken" has a very strong emotional motive. He is after all trying to save his kidnapped daughter from a sex trafficking gang. The bad guys in "Taken" are lets say - pretty bad. They evoke no sympathy and it is a treat to see them smashed to pulp. Every blow, every bullet, every kick is slick, fast and if I can say so - extremely enjoyable. In Taken, it is fun to see someone really take on the bad guys and hand it to them in their own coin.
The plot is pretty predictable. Bryan's(Liam Nesson) daughter is kidnapped by an Albanian sex trafficking gang in Paris. Bryan, a former CIA agent, goes on a no holds barred rescue mission to save his daughter. All hell breaks loose- that is -for the bad guys. The body count is pretty high - my guess is that it is more than 50. No prizes for predicting the finale - the bad guys pay dearly - real bad, I must say.
The plot is not the highlight of the movie. The acting is good. Liam Nesson does a good job. This is often exactly the kind of role tailor made for Harrison Ford, but Liam Nesson does a neat job here. I am not a big fan of flash editing but it seems to work well in this movie. The action scenes like I said before are really good even though they are pretty violent.
I would give a movie like this a 6 out of 10 but I am inclined to give this movie a 8 just for sheer edge of seat engrossing action.