Movie Review: Taken

Taken is the story of an ex-CIA agent who has left his career as super-spy to move closer to his ex-wife and try to reconnect with his teenage daughter. She gets kidnapped and he roams Europe torturing and killing bad guys to rescue her. No sub-plots, no hidden messages... that's it. Search and destroy in its purest sense.

Needless to say, I liked it. I'm always up for some good old fashioned violence. I was somewhat surprised however that the film is rated PG-13, seeing as the plot revolves around sex slavery/trafficking, and almost every scene involves graphic torture or killing. Not that I'm complaining, but it surprised me. Yay!

There's not really a whole lot for me to say about this movie, since it was so straightforward. If you're an action buff, you'll enjoy it thoroughly. There's no shortage of car chases, kung-fu fighting and bad guys getting shot by the dozens. Liam Neeson does a really good job at playing the role of cold-blooded protagonist, and the movie held my attention throughout its entire run.

I suppose the only complaint I have about the movie is that there is no really memorable villain. There are plenty of villains, and even a sort of "head" villain, but he's not very memorable or super-evil, and you only see him a very short time. No epic boss battle here. Mary also thought it was a little too predictable, as she was expecting some more mystery/thriller vibe out of it. Otherwise though, it was a great film and I would recommend it.

SCORING: I give Taken 3.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.