Packed with equal amounts of action and prejudice.

Rating: 2/10 (19 May 2009)

If you've ever seen "The Stone Merchant" you'll find that this movie has a similar message to show you. It's about the estranged main character, everybody laughing behind his back, trying to warn his beloved ones about the, in his eyes, apparent danger out there. In the end, every warning uttered turns out to be true and the unbelievers are at fault.
In "The Stone Merchant" it was about throwing mud at Islam whereas "Taken" just seem to encourage old-fashioned paranoia. Don't talk to strangers is the message and I loathe it. What kind of life does that leave you with?
The girl went to France for Chris'sakes! Not Somalia! Is America really safer? And not only does the father's warning words come true, they come true within the first 20 minutes after her plane lands. I mean, what are the odds? Makes me think the father hired the thugs just to make his point...
This plot is so obvious and unintelligent it effectively kills any other qualities the movie might have had.
If you like the concept though, watch "Man on Fire". It takes place in the right country for starters...