Charles Bronson-esque old school action flick for the 21st century
Added 11/16/2009
When I watched 'Taken' I was immediately reminded of the types of no-holds-barred, no-apologies action flicks that Charles Bronson starred in with Cannon during the 1980s -- films like Murphy's Law and Kinjite Forbidden Subjects. Quick runtime? Check. Heavy on action, thin on characters and plot? Check. Heavy violence? Though tamed a bit for a PG-13, yes.
But seriously, if you took this script and made this movie in 1984 with Charles Bronson it would be a Bronson classic. Neeson stars as an ex-CIA agent whose worst fears and paranoias from the job come true when his daughter and her friend are kidnapped by thugs from a European sex slavery ring. Neeson doesn't (beep) around in this one -- he goes right in and nails anyone and everyone even remotely involved, gets the job done, and as the saying goes, makes it home in time for corn flakes.
In short, if you love action, especially the Bronson/Seagal action flicks of the 80s and early 90s, this is definitely gonna be up your alley.
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Rambo goes to Paris...with a vengeance
Added 11/14/2009
White slavers, high speed chases, torture, explosions, dead bodies ... you just can't ask for more from gay Paree!
The plot is simple. An ex-CIA agent's airhead daughter decides to take an innocent trip to Paris and gets herself into a mess of trouble. (Dad knew all along that it was a bad idea, but do they ever listen?) True to Dad's completely reasonable and well-founded expectations, the daughter and her equally brainless girlfriend are immediately abducted by Albanian white slavers. Due to his CIA connections, Dad figures out who the slavers are in about three minutes, which gives you a whole hour to watch him kick, gouge, electrocute, shoot, and, in general, beat the living daylights out of the rest of the cast. Eventually, Dad finds the Arab sheik who has bought the silly girl for an outrageous (and totally unwarranted) amount of money, and there is a touching reunion--after Dad shoots the sheik. Then the happy pair fly back to California where a pop singer-
Hold on! Now wait just a cotton-picking minute! What about all the OTHER girls who were abducted while trying to get a taxi in Paris? Did Liam Neeson just leave them to their fate? Didn't some of them have well-to-do parents who might have kicked up a fuss? What about the "hundreds" of Albanian slave traders? I'm pretty sure Liam Neeson only killed... let me see...thirty or forty of them. How did he get on a plane after shooting all those people? Don't they have police in Paris?
OK, so it's an action flick. We can ignore all those little details. But the one thing you really can't get around is the fact that no way does a father rescue his daughter under those circumstances without saying, "I told you so."
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Neeson gives good Jason Bourne-like Performance
Added 11/12/2009
Neeson is excellent as a government operative who is divorced and is still trying to make amends to his teenage daughter for not being there for her during many of her formative years. He is very protective for her because of his training Thus he is extremely adverse to his daughter going with a friend to Paris for a vacation.
At first he totally refuses to give her permission but is pressure by both his daughter and ex-wife to sign the permission slip. Of course the actual plans that the daughter has once she gets there is different. She and her girlfriend let a stranger ride with them in a cab from the airport and it leads to a bunch of men breaking into the apartment where she is staying.
The daughter manages to call her father as the men break in and her tells her what is going to happen but if she follows his instructions, he will hopefully be able to find her. The men take both girls and one actually taunts Neeson on the phone. Neeson promises the attacker that he will track him down and kill him.
Neeson then dons a "Jason Bourne" personna and goes to Paris to find his daughter. He is in a desperate race against the clock because that he is told that if he doesn't find her in 96 hours, it will be impossible to ever locate her.
Great action scenes and Neeson is relentless in his chase. Though this movie has a lot of predictability it is still fun and Neeson does a good job playing his part. An above average thriller!
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Much better than I expected!
Added 11/8/2009
A co-worker suggested this movie saying it was better than most were giving it credit for and I was hesitant to take his word on it, as this co-worker has suggested other movies to my hubby and me that I ended up really disliking (My Super Ex-Girlfriend for example). But I gave in and gave it a try as I do like Liam Neeson, but I wasn't expecting much in the end.
The plot was a little weak and the movie overall was a bit formulaic. I didn't care for Maggie Grace as the daughter, and felt her acting was a bit lame in this movie. And I definitely wasn't expecting Liam Neeson to be so kick-butt in this movie and I was surprised at how much I really liked this film by the end! It's a good guy takes revenge on the bad guy flick and Liam excelled at it in this movie. And that is really why this movie is so good. Much, much better than I thought it would be and I am glad that I took the chance and saw it. You should too!
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Schindler's List 2. This time it's personal.
Added 11/5/2009
Taken: 6 out of 10: Taken comes this close to being great. It had an admittedly rocky start with Liam Neeson is trying to reconnect with his virginal 17 year-old teenage daughter in a way that seems just on this side of creepy. (Dude get your own girlfriend... really)
Speaking of which; swarthy bad guys, who clearly have never heard of Nancy Grace, are kidnapping Rich American Girls and making them drugged out street walkers or selling them for millions to Arab Sheiks based on whether they are virgins or not.
So ex-CIA estranged father Liam Neeson has 96 hours to find his daughter before she is gone forever deflowered and then burkaized apparently. A Fate Worse than Death you can almost hear the characters thinking.
Its as if Charles Bronson was guest starring in an Ilsa the Wicked Warden film located in George C Scotts Hardcore and the entire enterprise was PG-13. And yet the film still works two thirds through. Liam Neeson is more than fine. He is kicking ass on all cylinders. Its the bad guys that drop the ball.
First a rich French guy starts quoting the Godfather. Its not personal its business For starters the quote isnt even in context. He might as well have told the gun toting Liam Neeson may the force be with you for all the sense it makes. Second of all you cant quote the Godfather without referencing the fact that you are quoting it in the first place. Any screenwriter who does that should be sleeping with the fishes.
The second slap to the head is an Arab Sheik character that looked like he stepped out of a 1940s Bugs Bunny cartoon. Honestly I dont know where to begin on this silly stereotype. Why is he the film? Why does he have a knife to the white virgins throat? Who would Oscar Schindler shoot????
The last point seems important since the Arab is basically a Juden in a dress. Same large noses, same aversion to pork, same living in ghettos in Europe (Or/and having all the money), same secret organizations paying off French politicians, same affinity to despoiling white Aryan virgins... The more things change the more the stay the same I guess. (They didnt have the Arab cook and eat a baby. I guess they are holding that back for the sequel)
Overt French xenophobia aside, Taken is a fun ride for most of the trip. (The dinner with his French policeman friend and Frenchman's wife was a particular highlight) And as I did mention Liam Neeson does kick ass.
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Charles Bronson-esque old school action flick for the 21st century
Added 11/16/2009
When I watched 'Taken' I was immediately reminded of the types of no-holds-barred, no-apologies action flicks that Charles Bronson starred in with Cannon during the 1980s -- films like Murphy's Law and Kinjite Forbidden Subjects. Quick runtime? Check. Heavy on action, thin on characters and plot? Check. Heavy violence? Though tamed a bit for a PG-13, yes.
But seriously, if you took this script and made this movie in 1984 with Charles Bronson it would be a Bronson classic. Neeson stars as an ex-CIA agent whose worst fears and paranoias from the job come true when his daughter and her friend are kidnapped by thugs from a European sex slavery ring. Neeson doesn't (beep) around in this one -- he goes right in and nails anyone and everyone even remotely involved, gets the job done, and as the saying goes, makes it home in time for corn flakes.
In short, if you love action, especially the Bronson/Seagal action flicks of the 80s and early 90s, this is definitely gonna be up your alley.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Rambo goes to Paris...with a vengeance
Added 11/14/2009
White slavers, high speed chases, torture, explosions, dead bodies ... you just can't ask for more from gay Paree!
The plot is simple. An ex-CIA agent's airhead daughter decides to take an innocent trip to Paris and gets herself into a mess of trouble. (Dad knew all along that it was a bad idea, but do they ever listen?) True to Dad's completely reasonable and well-founded expectations, the daughter and her equally brainless girlfriend are immediately abducted by Albanian white slavers. Due to his CIA connections, Dad figures out who the slavers are in about three minutes, which gives you a whole hour to watch him kick, gouge, electrocute, shoot, and, in general, beat the living daylights out of the rest of the cast. Eventually, Dad finds the Arab sheik who has bought the silly girl for an outrageous (and totally unwarranted) amount of money, and there is a touching reunion--after Dad shoots the sheik. Then the happy pair fly back to California where a pop singer-
Hold on! Now wait just a cotton-picking minute! What about all the OTHER girls who were abducted while trying to get a taxi in Paris? Did Liam Neeson just leave them to their fate? Didn't some of them have well-to-do parents who might have kicked up a fuss? What about the "hundreds" of Albanian slave traders? I'm pretty sure Liam Neeson only killed... let me see...thirty or forty of them. How did he get on a plane after shooting all those people? Don't they have police in Paris?
OK, so it's an action flick. We can ignore all those little details. But the one thing you really can't get around is the fact that no way does a father rescue his daughter under those circumstances without saying, "I told you so."
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Neeson gives good Jason Bourne-like Performance
Added 11/12/2009
Neeson is excellent as a government operative who is divorced and is still trying to make amends to his teenage daughter for not being there for her during many of her formative years. He is very protective for her because of his training Thus he is extremely adverse to his daughter going with a friend to Paris for a vacation.
At first he totally refuses to give her permission but is pressure by both his daughter and ex-wife to sign the permission slip. Of course the actual plans that the daughter has once she gets there is different. She and her girlfriend let a stranger ride with them in a cab from the airport and it leads to a bunch of men breaking into the apartment where she is staying.
The daughter manages to call her father as the men break in and her tells her what is going to happen but if she follows his instructions, he will hopefully be able to find her. The men take both girls and one actually taunts Neeson on the phone. Neeson promises the attacker that he will track him down and kill him.
Neeson then dons a "Jason Bourne" personna and goes to Paris to find his daughter. He is in a desperate race against the clock because that he is told that if he doesn't find her in 96 hours, it will be impossible to ever locate her.
Great action scenes and Neeson is relentless in his chase. Though this movie has a lot of predictability it is still fun and Neeson does a good job playing his part. An above average thriller!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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