CINEMA: Taken

Oct 04, 2008

Written by: Dee Pilgrim

The dark avenger genre takes a new twist here with a plot involving white slave traders, lots of extremely thick Eastern European accents, oh, and Liam Neeson being well-hard in a leather jacket.

He’s ex-security expert Bryan who has to use all his reconnaissance and hand-to-hand combat skills when his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is taken hostage while on a trip to Paris to see U2 (bear with me). She just happens to be on the phone to Pops in the USA when a bunch of heavies break into the flat where she is staying and abduct her in broad daylight.

However, Dad, using his expertise and some whizzy gadgets, has taped the abduction, hops on a plane and is soon on the trail of the bad guys. What ensues is lots of chasing around Paris with Liam Neeson breaking heads, arms, legs and anything else he can lay his hands on in an effort to get his daughter back before she is sold to some sleazeball.

It’s certainly fast paced with lots of action but it is totally, utterly unbelievable. Also, it is full of every cliché in the book with the plot taking a predictable route to its even more predictable ending.Yes, it’s certainly slick, but it is completely soulless and a topping and tailing subplot featuring Holly Valance as a diva pop star is an unnecessary diversion.

Author: Dee Pilgrim

Dee always knew she wanted to make her living from writing and so trained as a journalist before working for a variety of music and women’s titles including Sounds, Company, Cosmopolitan, Ms London, New Woman, and Girl About Town. After going freelance she concentrated on celebrity interviews and film, theatre, music and restaurant reviews. Her love of film goes back to her very first cinema experience at the age of five when her mother took her to see Bambi. She cried. At one time she was the Film Editor for NOW magazine and also the secretary for the film section of the Critics’ Circle and the celebrity coordinator for its annual film awards’ event. She has written a number of books for teenagers through Trotman Publishing, including five Real Life Guides to vocational careers (including Carpentry, Plumbing and Catering), and also three books on Real Life Issues (Money, Bereavement and Self Harm). Her favourite film is still Bladerunner.