Taken (2008)

Retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is living an average life in LA. Longing to spend more time with his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who now lives with her mother, Mills’ ex wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and her mega rich husband Stuart (Berkeley), he reluctantly lets Kim go on a European holiday with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). His hesitation proves to be valid when the girls are kidnapped less than an hour after arriving but not before Kim gets in one last phone call with her Dad, where he is able to not only track her location, but also determine who is responsible. Yes, he is amazing.

Despite a writing credit from Luc Besson, the plot isn’t exactly plausible, but Neeson works it to the best of his ability and you end up suspending disbelief before no time. You simply forget how far fetched the scenario is when you’re watching him maim, torture and kill anyone getting in the way of finding his daughter. Yes, it’s highly unlikely that he would be able to pinpoint the exact location of his daughter from the limited amount of intelligence at his disposal, but it doesn’t matter. Your disbelief is automatically suspended because it all just looks so damn good.

Director Pierre Morel (The Transporter, Unleashed) is completely in his element. The performances are really good, with more character development than your average action film. You care about what happens and you’re rooting for Bryan every step of the way. He may have neglected his daughter in favour of his career in the past, but he’s certainly making up for it now. Intense action scenes and impressive stuns ensure you’ll be entertained from start to finish.

Bring on the sequel.

★★★☆