Taken (2008)

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Plot:

A former spy (Neeson) relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter (Grace), who has been forced into the slave trade. |

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Revenge Motive | Bodyguard | Torture | Agent

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Bryan
Maggie Grace	...	Kim
Famke Janssen	...	Lenore
Xander Berkeley	...	Stuart
Katie Cassidy	...	Amanda
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean Claude
Leland Orser	...	Sam
Jon Gries	...	Casey
David Warshofsky	...	Bernie
Holly Valance	...	Diva
Nathan Rippy	...	Victor
Camille Japy	...	Isabelle
Nicolas Giraud	...	Peter
Gérard Watkins	...	Saint Clair
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arben Bajraktaraj	...	Marko
Affif Ben Badra
Radivoje Bukvic	...	Anton
Valida Carroll	...	DJ
Fred Dessains
Dan Flood	...	Airline Traveler
David Forax
Rosemary Garris	...	Joan
Fani Kolarova	...	Girl on the street
Goran Kostic	...	Gregor
Edwin Kruger	...	Jean Claude's assistant
Marcus Lindsey	...	LAX Police Officer
Nabil Massad	...	Cheik
Patrick Médioni
Jalil Naciri	...	Ali
Anca Radici	...	Ingrid - Swiss girl
Christy Reese	...	Paper Clerk
Opender Singh	...	Singh
Helena Soubeyrand	...	Girl trailer
Caitlin Stasey	...	Riel
Anatole Taubman	...	Dardan
Olivier Vitrant

Also Known As:

Taken (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

Runtime:

France:93 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Doing this film propelled Famke Janssen to take action in the real fight against corruption. She now serves as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime.

Surprinsingly good - definitely must see

I'm still under the influence of this movie, so my comment is likely to be superlative! I went to this movie, knowing that one of the writers and the director were both French, and since I've seen some not-so-impressive movies (almost fell asleep), i was really skeptical.

BUT this one proved to be a great action movie. The best movie to compare with Taken is Hit-man. The idea is somewhat the same (lots of action, shots, flying bullets etc) - though the motive for the actions are not money. But the level of realism, the motivation of the character, the cold blood which moves him on makes this flick a good option to choose when selecting a movie.

Liam Neeson does a great performance, perfectly interpreting his role of a former spy. As he says in one of his lines, he's "retired, but not dead", having an opportunity to show everyone what he knows to do best.

The movie covers a hot topic too, kidnapping young women to force them to prostitute, and all the business this involves. You get to see the kind of people are supporting these arrangements and what it takes for the victims to be there.

Of course, the movie has (very small, almost invisible) drawbacks, like some lines in a wrong language (english instead of french) and some Rambo - stuff, but the overall impression is simple: a strong recommendation!