Friday 11 May 2012

Taken (2008)



I'm retired, I'm not dead!

I get the feeling that it was Taken that really started Neeson's re-branding as a badass action star; and it's easy to see why. At the start of the film Neeson's character - Bryan Mills, a retired CIA agent whose wife (Famke Janssen) left him for another guy - is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. He's still quite an intense guy and finding it hard to let go of his previous life. When his daughter goes on holiday to Paris and is kidnapped by a human trafficking organisation Bryan's old instincts kick in, and he doesn't waste a second tracking down the abductors. And my god he goes for it!

As soon as he hits Parisian soil, Mills is completely brutal and has absolutely no compunction about beating up, torturing and killing anyone. Neeson is amazing in this role, single-minded, determined and indomitable. For a big feller he can fairly move and he seems to be a natural in his action scenes. The action is very slick, and is filmed so that it is all very fluid and dramatic; I guess director Pierre Morel has learnt a few things about action when he was camera operator and DOP for two of The Transporter films.

Having just seen Famke Janssen squeezing the life out of people with her thighs in Goldeneye, it was quite nice to see her act here. Even in the X-men I don't think she gets to do much, but I was quite impressed by her here. She was very believable being exasperated by her ex-husband, and was suitably crushed when learning of her daughters kidnap. She only had a small role but was very good in it.

An action-packed, brutal thriller that is dragged kicking and screaming into the class of great films by Neeson's tremendous performance. It has taken (!) me a while to get around to seeing this film; I say it like this because I've been aware of people raving about it for quite some time. I have to say that the recommendations weren't wrong. No wonder Neeson was fairly hot property after this.

4 comments:

  1. Plenty of fun action filled with cool Neeson knocking the hell out of everybody in sight but for some odd reason, it just wasn't anything more than a cool thriller. Nothing new, original, or surprising really. However, I think this second one may be a little cool for some odd reason. Good review Russell.

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    1. Cheers Dan O. You're right, nothing new or original perhaps, but yeah, Neeson is cool kicking the hell out of everyone!

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  2. Yesss, absolutely kick-ass action flick. Undoubtedly one of Liam Neeson's greatest performances. I don't know if we really need a sequel (which is currently in post-production) - nevertheless, I'm already excited for it! :)

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    1. I missed out on seeing Taken at the cinema, so I shall be looking forward to the second one. If it's as action packed as the first one I don't suppose it can go too far wrong, and if Neeson is as gung-ho as he is in the first then it should be entertaining enough.

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