Taken (2008)
Average Rating: 5.8/10
Reviews Counted: 168
Fresh: 98 | Rotten: 70
Taken is undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise.
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 22
Taken is undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 421,644
Movie Info
An ex-soldier (Liam Neeson) traveling through Europe embarks on a frantic quest to rescue his daughter (Maggie Grace) after the young girl is abducted by slave traders in District B13 director Pierre Morel's contemporary thriller Taken. Robert Mark Kamen joins the screenwriting team, which also includes Morel and longtime collaborator Luc Besson, who also produces. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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Cast
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Liam Neeson
Bryan Mills -
Maggie Grace
Kim -
Famke Janssen
Lenore -
Leland Orser
Sam -
Jon Gries
Casey -
David Warshofsky
Bernie -
Holly Valance
Sheerah -
Katie Cassidy
Amanda -
Xander Berkeley
Stuart -
Olivier Rabourdin
Jean-Claude -
Gerard Watkins
Patrice St. Clair -
Arben Bajraktaraj
Marko -
Nathan Rippy
Victor -
Camille Japy
Isabelle -
Nicolas Giraud
Peter -
Goran Kostic
Gregor -
Mathieu Busson
Undercover Agent -
Marc Amyot
Pharmacist -
Michel Flash
Gio -
Rasha Bukvic
Anton -
Rubens Hyka
Leika
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Taken Trailer & Photos
All Critics (169) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (70) | DVD (11)
It's fun for about 15 minutes seeing Neeson do James Bond as Daddy Dangerous. But the surprise wears off quickly.
Top CriticYou've just kidnapped the wrong teenager, Mister Foreign Slave Trader Man.
Taken is the kind of exploitative junk everyone expects from no-talent French hack Luc Besson.
[Neeson's] performance is the most perturbing thing in the film, even more so than its electrical-torture sequence or its revelations about sex-trafficking.
It's the big, dolorous Neeson who makes the movie a keeper.
Don't be taken in by Taken.
As Kim, Maggie Grace is a bit old to convincingly portray a boppy underage teenager, although she appears to be giving her best to a one-dimensional role that essentially disappears during the movie's slam-bang midsection.
Neeson stars in the sort of part Harrison Ford would have gotten ten or fifteen years ago.
The dialogue is functional at best, Bryan's motives are basic; it's all apt for this bare-knuckle punch of an action movie.
It's so awesome to see Liam Neeson taking out the trash in pursuit of his prized child.
In Taken viewers are introduced to a new side of Irish actor Liam Neeson, one that is relentless and likes to hit criminals in the throat -- a lot.
Though the film takes some time to get going, once Neeson arrives in Paris, the 91-minute runtime flies by like its stuck on fast-forward.
Taken is a fast-paced, high-octane action movie that ... doesn't take very many detours into soul-searching melancholy.
I liked it, but don't expect the unexpected in this French action thriller -- especially in an ending that is about as predictable as a Pine Sol commercial.
It's got all the attributes of a guilty pleasure - excitement, some undeniably enjoyable scenes and the absence of what it needs to be more memorable and more substantial.
This heart-stopping revenge flick written by Luc Besson is easily Liam Neeson's most memorable performance since his Oscar-nominated outing in Schindler's List.
The action is engaging but rarely exciting; the drama heftier but still far from convincing.
In a lesser actor's hands, the powerful impact of the subject matter would not have been so ably delivered.
The script is more hard-hitting and realistic than [Besson's] Transporter films, which means youll only laugh out loud two or three times.
Taken is the best action thriller of 2009 thus far.
This briskly paced movie delivers a full payload of action and leaves you mentally exhausted. You immediately recall the famous line from "The Wizard of Oz" that "There is no place like home."
A morally specious but undeniably efficient brainstem-tickler -- the most effective action/revenge thriller in years.
Neeson delivers a typically compelling performance in (for him) an atypically muscle-bound role.
Fortunately, somewhat-sloppy storytelling never gets in the way of this briskly paced action adventure.
A bizarre mix of sentimentality and bone-cracking violence, this Hardcore/Not Without My Daughter hybrid pits a determined father against the thuggish Albanian sex traffickers who kidnapped daddy's little girl as she vacationed in Paris.<
Audience Reviews for Taken
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Bryan Mills: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you're looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.
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- Bryan Mills: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you....
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- Bryan Mills: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
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- Bryan Mills: By the way, which one of you is Marko?
- Marko: We are all Marko.
- Bryan Mills: Marko, from Tropoja.
- Marko: We are all from Tropoja...
- Bryan Mills: ...If that's the game you want to play the rates just went up ten percent.
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- Bryan Mills: You don't remember me? We spoke on the phone...I told you I would find you. [goes on to kick 5 different Marco's butts]
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- Kim: Mom said your job made you paranoid.
- Bryan Mills: Well, my job made me aware.
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Latest News on Taken
January 17, 2013:
Liam Neeson Is Ready to Run All NightNeeson will return to the action thriller fold as a hitman on the run from the mob.
August 25, 2011:
The Taken Sequel Will Film in OctoberLuc Besson says the entire cast will be back.
October 20, 2010:
Pierre Morel Consulting Ouija?According to the Los Angeles Times' sources, "Taken" director Pierre Morel is the leading candidate...
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Featured
Movie: ID: 770680780 Title: Taken Release Date: 2009-01-30 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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- 96 Hours (DE)
