My Father The Hero. Review on Taken Movie

It is a wise father that knows his own child.- William Shakespeare

What  happens  when  the  young,  beautiful  daughter is  kidnapped  in another  nation?  How does it feel  when  you  find  that  your  daughter,  has become the  victim of  a nefarious gang?  What  would  a  father do,  when  his  daughter is  TAKEN?

Taken  is  the  story  of a  father,  who  has  to deal  with  the  kidnapping  of  his  daughter  in  France,  and  go all the way  out  to  rescue her. Only  the  father in this  case happens  to be an  ex  CIA  operative by the  name  of   Bryan  Mills( Liam Neeson),  who is now  leading  a retired  life, and alone. His  career in the  CIA,  has  taken  a  toll on  his  own  personal  life,  his  ex  wife Lenore( Famke  Jansenn)  had  divorced and later  remarried a  wealthy  businessman,  Stuart.   Bryan  however  dotes  on  his  young  and beautiful  daughter,   Kim(  Maggie  Grace).

During  a lunch  arranged by  Lenore, Bryan  learns  that  he  needs to  sign a  consent form, that would allow  Kim to go on a tour to  Paris, along with  her  friend  Amanda( Kate  Cassidy).  He  reluctantly agrees  to it,  just  to  ensure  his  daughter's  happiness.  Though he is apprehensive about  sending her,  he  can do nothing  about  it.  Kim  lands in  Paris  with Amanda, where they  meet an  attractive stranger  named  Peter( Nicolas  Giraud),  who  suggest  they  stay  in his  apartment.   Peter however turns  out to be a  crook,  and soon,  Kim witnesses  Amanda  being  kidnapped  by  a  gang, while  talking to her  dad.  Bryan  asks  her  to give  information about the kidnappers,  and soon  Kim is  also kidnapped.

Though  his  friend  Sam,  Bryan comes to know that    Kim has been kidnapped by a  group of  human traffickers, who  sell  these  girls  into  prostitution.   That  makes  Bryan  set  out  for  Paris  to get  back  his  daughter  from  the  Gang, which needs to be seen on screen.

Taken  is a  typical  action  masala  flick, with  good  amount of   fights, chases,  explosions, and enough  adrenaline to keep  it  going.  In  fact  Bryan  seems  more  like a  typical  Indian hero, as  he  dodges  bullets,  jumps  from bridges,  fights  barehanded  with a dozen guys,  and  not  emerging  with a  single  scratch.   However  the  movie  is  quite  enjoyable,  the  action  scenes  are  excellent,  and  the  tension is  maintained. The  pace  never  slackens,  and  the  audience is  kept on the edge of  the seat, wondering  what  happens  next, which is how it should be.

Also  the  character of  Bryan  Mills, though the hero,  is  quite  gray.  He  does  not  mind  shooting  at  his  ex colleagues  wife  in  Paris, just to get the  information  out  of  him.  Ruthless,  and  single minded, he  does  not   really  care  for  ethics.  One of the  best  scenes in the  movie is where Bryan  tortures one of  the gang  members  into  revealing information, very  brutal, not  easy to watch. But then it confirms the  fact, that  when  you  are  up  against  a  ruthless gang,  you  need to be  as ruthless.

The  kidnapping  scene is well shot too,  the  camera  work  of a real  high  quality.  As also the scene where Brian  confronts  Peter at  the  airport,  and  the  final  shoot  out  scene.

But  more than  anything  else,  it  is  Liam  Neeson,  who  elevates  what could  have  been a  routine action  flick, with  a  brilliant  performance.  Neeson  who  had  given  some  top  class performances in  serious  dramatic  roles  like  Schindlers  List, Rob Roy,  Les  Miserables  in  his career, proves he is  equally  excellent  in the  action  stuff.  Dignified,  restrained  and  intense,  his  performance  is  a  lesson to  our  big  hyped  up  stars, who  boast  a lot and do nothing.

On the whole, a pretty  watchable  movie,  thanks  to  Liam Neeson  and  some  great  action scenes.  Go  watch it.