Kill 'Em All

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 2014)

Released in the U.S. in January, 2009, "Taken" is one kick-axx movie! In fact, it's the best I've seen in a long time.
THE PLOT: Liam Neeson plays a retired CIA agent whose 17-year-old daughter is abducted by Albanian sex-slavers while vacationing in Paris. Neeson immediately flies to Paris and utilizes all his skills to find his daughter and mercilessly punish anyone involved in the sex-trade who gets in his way.
"Taken" plays out like a James Bond flick but without the goofiness and boring parts. Once Neeson gets on the trail of the sex-slavers it's non-stop suspense and action until the end.
What makes the film work so well is that, like Neeson's character in the story, the viewer is left totally outraged by the sex-slaver's abduction of his daughter; hence, you're passionately rooting for him throughout the rest of the flick.
It's true that Neeson is a veritable one-man-army in the film but it's presented in such a way that the viewer is able to suspend disbelief. In other words, it SEEMS believable. More than that, you WANT it to be believable because you want him to get his daughter back and annihilate the scumbags. Besides, Neeson is realistically portrayed as a father ruthlessly driven and pulling no punches. He has the emotional edge and determination that the slavers lack. He's an unstoppable force pure and simple.
The film addresses a scary subject -- the sex-slave trade. This really happens. I know of two beautiful young girls locally who have disappeared while vacationing abroad; one was in Cancun and the other in Africa. The parents and siblings are left devastated and scarred for life. What happened to the girls? No one knows, but the sex-slave trade is a very real possibility. Not to mention the Natalee Holloway case; Urine Van der Sloot confessed in an interview that he sold Natalee for $10,000 and a boat came and picked her up. This would explain why no remains have been found. Although he later retracked the statements the strong possibility remains that Natalee may have been sold into the sex-slave trade.
The moral of "Taken" is simple: Anyone involved in the sex-slave trade deserves nothing but instant and merciless obliteration from this plane of existence.
Incidentally, I read Roger Ebert's review before seeing the film and he gave it a mediocre 2.5/4 Star rating. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Taken" pulls you in and and takes you on an enthralling thrill ride throughout its runtime. Not to mention it's well made on every level. But let's remember that Ebert gave the overrated and pretentious "No Country for Old Men" a perfect 4/4 rating. Unbelievable.
The film was shot on location in France and runs a short-but-sweet hour and a half.
GRADE: A