Is this action flick a poor man's excuse for Bourne Identity or the countless other action/spy flicks or will it truly "take" you for a ride?  Let me be your guinea pig and run the film's highs and lows so you can see if it's worth a $5 rental or a $25 purchase.  The plot of "Taken" is fairly standard fair.  You have a father that's been separated from his wife and daughter because of his work and the film parallels that reality with having his daughter actually being taken away.  

Starring Liam Neeson as the father, Maggie Grace as the 16 year old daughter, and Femke Janssen as the separated mother, this is one oddly casted family.  I'm usually not one to get distracted too much from age differences with the actors casted but "Taken" was different.  I can see Neeson and Janssen being a couple, especially with Neeson receiving a younger makeover for this outing.  But Maggie Grace as a 16 year old girl?  Grace was born in 1983, making her 25 years old this year - turning 26 in September.  That's quite a stretch for an actress to play someone that's 10 years younger.  Unfortunately, Grace wasn't quite up to task (and I'm not blaming her because she tried hard) and the character of Kim, the daughter, was poorly casted.  

Even though the actors in the film would not have been my first choice based on looks and style, I do have to say that the role of Bryan Mills played by Neeson was brilliant.  Here's a man with a dark past that he has tried to shield from his family while doing the job he was very good at.  Somewhere along the way, the job and its values became too much for his family to handle and the eventual split happens.  The film starts you off with Kim's 16th birthday and Bryan is trying to live up to the fatherly role while Kim's new step-father is showering her with lavish gifts (a horse).  You really feel for Bryan as he's trying very hard to leave his past behind and has gone so far as early retirement to try and build some form of a relationship with the daughter he loves.

The director does a great job at making you sympathizes with Bryan's family situation.  Which is absolutely important because when Kim is abducted while on a trip in Europe, there's no one else by Bryan that can save her.  This is where the film turns the action dial up five notches and tells you a story not unlike if you saw Jason Bourne 15 years later with a wife and kids.  The amount of brutality isn't quite there (it is PG-13 after all) but the action elements are all there.  You've got gun fights, car chases, foot chases and hand to hand combat.  Neeson does all of this with believability and enough determination for you to cheer his cause.

Where I'm Coming From

I'm a big fan of action movies, both brainless and intelligent ones.  I'm also a fan of spy/crime drama such as the Bourne series or films like L.A. Confidential and The Usual Suspects.  After seeing the trailer initially, I was taken by..."Taken" (ok, that was bad!)  I missed out on the theater's first run but I'm glad I took the chance on Pay Per View for this film.

What I Compared It To

This film is cross between a spy/action thriller and a crime drama.  Naturally, the action sequences reminded me a lot of "The Bourne Identity" while the crime drama was more L.A. Confidential than I had originally expected.

What I Liked

I really enjoyed the pacing of the film.  At 93 minutes, the movie never felt long or slow.  The action sequences were choreographed very well and mixed in perfectly with the crime drama parts of the story.  Neeson does a very believable job of a father on a mission and you honestly believe he will stop at nothing to get his daughter back.  Certain spy moments were also very well done and not at all too James Bond.

What I Didn't Like

As I've already mentioned, Maggie Grace was horribly miscast in the role of the daughter.  Casting a young, hot, actress is one thing, but casting a 25 year old to play a 16 year old child is poor choice.  I like Maggie Grace as an actress and I think she did a great job as Boone's sister in LOST but I don't think anyone can play a 16 year old when they are 25 themselves.  In fact, Grace's performance was so distracting (because she had to seriously overact to compensate for the age difference) it took away from the believability of the film.  Without going into spoilers, the plot has the criminals engaged in some "questionable" activities.  While the crimes themselves were meant to illustrate the immorality of these criminals, it was very uncomfortable to watch Grace, who is very attractive, act in those "questionable" situations as a 16 year old.  That just seems unnecessarily confusing and wrong on so many levels.

Value

With the DVD release on May 12, I would suggest waiting for the rental or if you can find it cheap in an HD format through your service provider, rent it there.  This movie is something that doesn't quite warrant a full price purchase but it is certainly an entertaining film that I will watch more than once.

Final Word

"Taken" is a very well crafted blend of action and drama, starring some very talented actors and directed by a veteran action movie director (Luc Besson).  If you're into action flicks and enjoy them along side a health dose of mystery and thrills, then I highly recommend "Taken".  It's also a great movie to take a date to since there's much more of a story there than other mindless action films.