Taken
Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley
Director: Pierre Morel
92 Minutes
EuropaCorp, M6 Films, Grive Productions
2008
Rating: MA15+

Written by Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Besson (The Transporter, The Fifth Element) and from what one could gather from the trailer, one expects this to be a short, no-brainer, action packed, light entertainment - and it is a well produced one at that. Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) has retired from his espionage/military career to rebuild a relationship with his estranged teenage daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). When Kim wants to take a trip to Paris with her friend, Bryan is expectedly reluctant, fearing for her safety given the state of the world. Obviously, he allows her to go. When Kim and her friend arrive in Paris and are stupid enough to acquaint themselves with a stranger, Kim and her friend are abducted by those involved in trafficking young women with Kim having a chance to speak to her father over the phone as this happens. Mills then relentlessly hunts down those responsible and rescue his daughter in the narrow timeframe he has.

Liam Neeson gives his usual calm and wooden performance. He is angry but never quite shows it; his efficient and brutal (although not necessarily unjust) actions and the consequent body count speaking for themselves. Never is he a goodie-two-shoes type of hero who makes excessive effort to not kill the enemy, nor is he the out of control vindictive father who dwells on inflicting pain and wastes time. He meticulously does what needs to be done, then moves on. The cinematography and editing by Michel Abramowicz and Frédéric Thoraval respectively is vigorous, with plenty of quick cuts and camera movement, not unlike the recent Bourne films, but much more measured and less disorientating. The sound is also calculatedly mixed and edited - loud, crisp and clear when needed, nothing more, nothing less.

The narrative is compact and very tight and while the plot is generally predictable with stereotypical characters, the pace does not give one much time to think too much. The set pieces are well choreographed and executed, in itself exciting enough even if it is somewhat fantastical at times. Having said all this, the subject matter is nonetheless serious and disturbing, the film highlighting - if only in a toned down manner - the horrors of the slave trade and the culpable negligence or participation of the corrupted authorities. Despite its simplicity, Taken is a satisfying and a technically well produced film.