I was rather hoping that this would have been a bit like the original "Taken" but it falls well short of that excellent film.
I won't go into the plot as this can be seen on the many other reviews.
Suffice is to say that I find it hard to believe that contact killers have a heart of gold and a sense of justice and fair play. If you're psycho enough to kill indiscriminately for cash, then you must have extreme "moral flexibility". That the protagonist (Alex) seems to dedicate his life to finding and killing the "baddies" is verging on the ridiculous.
The denouement (and the "hits" leading up to the unsatisfying ending) stretch ones credibility to the limit. Somehow, "Taken" didn't create this sense of disbelief. I guess that's the difference between a great director (Luc Besson) and a so-so director (Martin Campbell).
Interestingly, Guy Pearce was in a film called Memento - where he's had brain damage and can't remember things, so he tattoos his whole body with Post-It notes. Liam Neeson (who's supposed to have Alzheimers in this film) writes things on his forearm. A sort of salute (pun intended) to the film that Guy Pearce used to be in.
As for Liam Neeson having advanced dementia and still being able to outsmart everyone and cope with advanced electronics - give me a break. That alone is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in a movie.
As I put in the title, this is a big disappointment but it is (just) watchable. You'll leave the cinema irritated at the silly plot holes and wish you'd waited for it to come out on download. I've seen worse films - but not many.
I gave it 4/10. I was being very generous.
I won't go into the plot as this can be seen on the many other reviews.
Suffice is to say that I find it hard to believe that contact killers have a heart of gold and a sense of justice and fair play. If you're psycho enough to kill indiscriminately for cash, then you must have extreme "moral flexibility". That the protagonist (Alex) seems to dedicate his life to finding and killing the "baddies" is verging on the ridiculous.
The denouement (and the "hits" leading up to the unsatisfying ending) stretch ones credibility to the limit. Somehow, "Taken" didn't create this sense of disbelief. I guess that's the difference between a great director (Luc Besson) and a so-so director (Martin Campbell).
Interestingly, Guy Pearce was in a film called Memento - where he's had brain damage and can't remember things, so he tattoos his whole body with Post-It notes. Liam Neeson (who's supposed to have Alzheimers in this film) writes things on his forearm. A sort of salute (pun intended) to the film that Guy Pearce used to be in.
As for Liam Neeson having advanced dementia and still being able to outsmart everyone and cope with advanced electronics - give me a break. That alone is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in a movie.
As I put in the title, this is a big disappointment but it is (just) watchable. You'll leave the cinema irritated at the silly plot holes and wish you'd waited for it to come out on download. I've seen worse films - but not many.
I gave it 4/10. I was being very generous.