Although well-crafted but improbable action set pieces cast Neeson as an essentially indomitable force, the film's emotional force rests on the comparatively persuasive setup.
Comment
01/30/09
Taken (2009)
57
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:159
Fresh:91
Rotten:68
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Taken is undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise.
Theatrical Release:Jan 30, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $144,924,285
Synopsis: Liam Neeson is an unstoppable force in this adrenaline-fueled thriller from director Pierre Morel. Bryan (Neeson) has taken early retirement from the CIA in order to live closer to his teenage... [More]
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley
Director: Pierre Morel
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Reviews for Taken
If it’s unrepentant violence you’re after, you’re better off renting [director] Morel’s 2004 collaboration syndicate with Besson, District B13.
01/30/09
The last third of the film is a 50-year-old's little-boy temper tantrum.
01/30/09
Top CriticIt doesn't quite live up to the promise of that most awesomest of trailers, but almost.
01/30/09
Bottom line? Action junkies sign up, school marms stay home.
01/30/09
Taken is an exploitation thriller, the sort of studio pic that seizes the worst the world has to offer (the sex-slave outrages that The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof exposed so brilliantly) to bolster its rote rhythms.
01/30/09
In Taken, an excruciating atavism of a movie, father knows best in the worst way -- and he's ready to enforce it, come hell or high melodrama.
01/30/09
Move over Bourne. This is the best action movie since The Bourne Ultimatum.
01/30/09
Liam Neeson makes Jack Bauer look like a wimp in Taken, a ridiculously silly action drama directed by Pierre Morel (District B13).
01/30/09
...the sort of action film that you watch with glee and then hate yourself for doing so. Call it the year's first guilty pleasure.
01/30/09
The film's premise is obviously a little shaky, but if you're looking for straight out, cold, hard action than there is nothing better for you than Taken.
01/30/09
Taken, which tells the story of how Liam Neeson blows a gasket and flies off to France and kills 75 Albanians in 90 minutes, is crisp, efficient and deeply insane.
01/30/09
Bringing the same screen presence and gravity that he has to more serious roles like those in Schindler's List and Kinsey, Liam Neeson turns the relatively generic Taken into an above-average action movie.
01/30/09
If they had an Oscar for kicking butt, Liam Neeson would win it. I feel like I just left the gym. See this flick in theatres!
01/30/09
Taken is by no means the best the spy/action genre has to offer--it's not as smart as Bourne nor as classy as Bond--but it'll do till something better comes along.
01/30/09
One of the most ruthlessly efficient and sheerly entertaining hardcore action films to come along in a long time.
01/30/09
It's a fairly gripping, involving story, to be sure, but director Pierre Morel (District B13) gives it a pretty lazy treatment.
01/29/09
The action is engaging but rarely exciting; the drama heftier but still far from convincing.
01/29/09
Taken is a completely enjoyable, low-key actioner.
01/29/09
Liam Neeson proves that he's a total badass. But even he can't knock sense into this silly action-thriller.
01/29/09
Latest News for Taken
May 11, 2009:
RT on DVD: Taken Exclusive; Underworld 3, Trek Blu-ray Set!
This week on DVD, Liam Neeson (you know, the veteran Irish actor who your grandmother thinks looks nice) opens a can of whoop ass on unsuspecting kidnappers, much to our delight... More...
March 12, 2009:
Kamen, Besson Ready to Get Taken Again 
After years spent in Hollywood's creative wilderness, "Taken" screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen is right where he wants to be: partnered with Luc Besson, responsible for a string... More...
March 08, 2009:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Watchmen Scores $55.7 Million Opening
The adult-themed superhero film Watchmen seized control of the North American box office posting the biggest debut of the year with an estimated $55.7M in ticket sales over the... More...
February 08, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
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