wilsonblogclassic® Originally posted Monday, July 13, 2009

After a couple of viewings of Taken starring Liam Neeson I ended up liking the movie very much, but this is not the usual shoot 'em up action flick. Taken is a little more intense and realistic than what you would normally see in this type of film. It's a very compelling story about an ex-intelligence agent searching for his abducted teenage daughter and willing to do anything to find her. This movie takes on the subject seen in another great (and underrated) action movie, David Mamet's Spartan, the subject of trafficking in young women to be sold in Mid-East nations. As already stated the film takes itself more seriously than the average action movie of this type. The fight scenes and gunplay in this film are (for the most part) much more real to life, usually brutal and over very quickly. Neeson does an excellent job with the part, showing both sides of his character's personality, the caring father wanting to have a relationship with his estranged daughter and the consummate professional willing to do anything to complete his mission. This is not the usual type of role that he is known for but Neeson shows himself to be more than capable. I purchased the 2-Disc "Extended Cut" DVD that includes both the theatrical release of the film and the extended version, which is a few minutes longer and includes some more action and violence. Both are well worth seeing.