Spoiler Alert - Nice idea - shame about the execution - Spoiler Alert

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 2010)

The Good
-A tensely directed film. No loose baggage or unimportant scenes. The film got on with telling the story and was nicely compact as a result.
-Some very good individual scenes. In particular the initial kidnap scene and the showdown between Neeson and the French secret agent. Overall a great directorial job by Pierre Morel.
The Bad
-Utterly unrealistic view of sex trafficking. Look middle class American tourists do not get kidnapped by traffickers. The film makes out that young women are being kidnapped in France daily. In fact the overwhelming majority of women who are kidnapped or coerced into the sex industry come from vulnerable backgrounds (low income - drug dependency etc) and poor areas of the world such as the ex-USSR countries, Phillipines, Thailand etc.
-The body count just got silly. Neeson went through a ridiculous number of disposable bad guys. I could have accepted that from a Van Damme or Segal flick but I was expecting a more intelligent movie.
-Spoonfed investigation. Other than the clever bit Neeson does with his daughter during the kidnap he pretty much moves from one strand of investigation to the next with little real difficulty thanks to outrageous coincidences. For example luckily the first pimp he meets in Paris is directly involved with the kidnappers. Who then immediately drives off to go the brothel site where luckily his daughters's jacket is there etc. The coincidences just went on and on.
-Cardboard cutout villains. And I don't just mean the sex traffickers. It was obvious from the get go that the mom and step father were going to be made out to be practically criminally negligent. Neeson told them it was dangerous. And of course he is proved right less than 4 hours after the girls get off the plane! Way too obvious villains for the audience to boo at. Yawn.
Overall I'll still give it 6/10 as it was an exciting film. It was just disappointing that what might have been an intelligent thriller turned into a generic action flick with the cheesiest ending of all time.
And as for realism well if you want a serious look at the realities and evils of sex trafficking watch Lilja-4 ever.
PS. To all Americans thinking of coming to Europe please do not be put put off by this film. It really is very safe!