“Taken” starring Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, and that Mason creep from “24.” Directed by Pierre Morel.
It’s like waiting for your child’s test results from Dr. Mengele — it fills you with dread. And then it goes to work on you. It’s as an effective and affecting a thriller as I’ve ever seen.
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11 Comments
1. M. Report:Roger that.
I _think_ the rougher version of the torture
scene was used in the preview; Beats the Hell
out of waterboarding.
As for those of you who comforted yourselves by
May 21, 2009 - 10:00 pm 2. Lynne:thinking “Its just a work of fiction”; You wish.
By coincidence, my sweetheart just brought this home from Blockbuster last nite to distract me from my flu. Haven’t watched it yet and was wondering about it.
May 22, 2009 - 8:36 am 3. EvilRedScandi:Thanks for the review!
One of the best action thrillers I’ve seen in a looooong time, with some of the best-choreographed action not out of China. I remember reading a book some time ago by a former special forces guy that was snarking on the fact that hand-to-hand action sequences in most movies are far too drawn out – in actuality most fights involving “professionals” are over in just a few seconds because they’ll get in a killing or incapacitating blow. This movie embraces that concept completely; Liam Neeson’s character is extremely efficient and effective in all of the combat sequences (and there are a lot of them).
It’s also one of the only thriller movies I’ve seen where at no point was I thinking “You stupid mouth-breathing idiot! You should do !” Pretty much everything the protagonist did was completely logical (I could quibble about some of the secondary characters and villains, but they don’t last long enough to become annoying).
Anyway, great flick. Not much plot; it’s just a wild ride written and produced by one of Europe’s best filmmakers (Luc Besson) and directed by his favorite director of photography. As one commenter put it: the intelligence of a European film, the pacing of an American film, and the action of a Chinese film, all in one great package.
May 22, 2009 - 9:44 am 4. Casey:By another coincidence (what? did this just come out on rental? {g}) I just watched it myself last night.
Bloody incredible. Agree with EvilRed above about the efficiency of Neeson’s character.
If you haven’t made up your mind about this movie then, yes, watch it.
May 22, 2009 - 10:44 am 5. Knight:Excellent film. Still holding it back from Netflix for a second viewing.
May 22, 2009 - 10:53 am 6. doc:There were two things I LOVED about this movie. The first was the lack of foul language. Lets face it, every time a screenwriter needs an idea it’s a four letter word. This movie had great action but not all the baggage that seems to follow action movies. And the second thing I liked was that bad guys were bad guys, not misunderstood bad guys. That and if your the father of a girl… you’ll get lied to constantly and reduced in stature.
May 22, 2009 - 10:57 am 7. Dave S.:The only bad thing I have to say about this otherwise excellent movie is the latest fad of moving the camera around too much – a la ‘Blair Witch’.
May 22, 2009 - 12:08 pm 8. DocJ:I loved it, but on the way home I told my wife that I’ve extended the time I’m keeping our daughter confined to her room from 18 to 25.
May 22, 2009 - 12:25 pm 9. Casey:(smacking forehead) sam, you’re right. That didn’t register at first.
Actually, I think one or two of the froggies said “shit,” but they’re French, non?
Dave: it really isn’t a fad; it’s more of an attempt to provide a sense of realism, in that it moves the point of view away from a traditional static movie form so the audience feels that they’re actually seeing the action first hand.
Done well, it can be very effective, but like any shooting method it can be abused.
May 22, 2009 - 10:28 pm 10. NukemHill:Damn. Out on video already? Time flies when you’re crushed by a ridiculous work schedule. I’d thought this was still in the theatres. I’ll have to rent the blu-ray.
Thanks for the review, guys. Looked good in the trailers. Now I’m just disappointed I can’t see it on the big screen.
May 24, 2009 - 10:53 am 11. Christian Toto:This one’s mad success caught Hollywood flat footed. Think they’ll try to duplicate its unPC qualities? Nah.
But remember, Hollywood is a business. The same business which didn’t bother to repeat “The Passion of the Christ.”
May 25, 2009 - 10:45 amSorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.