Taken

In Taken, Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a retired secret agent who moves to Los Angeles to be close to his daughter, who is living with Bryan’s ex-wife and her well-to-do husband. But when his daughter is kidnapped while visiting Paris with a friend, Bryan comes out of retirement and hunts down the thugs who snatched his daughter.

Taken is a high concept movie that moves along well and benefits from Neeson’s determined and level performance. He is likable and believable. Taken holds no surprises -- we know how things are going to go down in the end: with fists and bullets flying. It’s the journey that’s entertaining, seeing how Bryan uses his experience and his wits to connect the dots and find his daughter’s kidnappers.

Taken is co-written by Luc Besson (who directed La Femme Nakita and The Fifth Element), but his script, though often crisp and tight, has no real spark. The film is ultimately mediocre, and it occurred to me that as capable as Neeson is, Harrison Ford or Bruce Willis could have slipped easily into the role of Bryan, perhaps with better results. Ford would have brought a little more vulnerability to the character, while Willis would have lightenened things up a bit, as the film gets a bit heavy at times. So in the end, Taken is entertaining but uninspired.

But that’s not such a bad thing.