Fulltime Casual - An Australian Film and TV Podcast

Taken uses a well-worn plot of a retired government agent forced back into action by events threatening his family. In a shocking twist it turns out that men in their late 50’s aren’t so great at jumping from high things onto moving objects, dodging bullets, and tend to get out of breath! No, just kidding - it’s more  of the same.

Luc Besson co-wrote and co-produced Taken and it follows pretty similar lines to the other action films he’s involved with: supporting cast tend to exist just to give the protagonist something to attack or protect (the Transporter series, Danny the Dog, or Ong-bak), and we get to the action without too much difficulty. Before we get to the real reason for watching the movie we are subjected to some pretty schmaltzy father-daughter-ex wife-new husband  conflict, but thankfully it’s only there to set up Bryan (Neeson) as someone who puts duty first at the expense of blah blah blah. You know exactly what this is about so lets get to the meat.

Taken is fun but not especially inspiring, the action sequences don’t blow believable too far out of the water and it looks like there were a lot of practical effects and stunt work, which I for one was really pleased about. Directed by the cinematographer Pierre Morel (again involved with War, the Transporter and Danny the Dog) the film looks great, the shots are tight and well framed, and the editing is nicely paced and proficient. Apart from a dodgy window replacement or two, the effect work was pretty seamless and well done by the French crew.

When the dialogue switches to French or Albanian we’re not provided with subtitles, personally I didn’t mind so much as it doesn’t hinder your comprehension of the film, and when the main character doesn’t understand what’s being said around him I don’t think the audience needs to either. The story itself is pretty predictable and you never feel like Bryan or his daughter Lenore (Maggie Grace) are in real danger, but there’s also some gritty stuff to be chewed with some uncomfortable scenes of drug abuse and prostitution. Bryan is almost Batman-like in his ability to dodge bullets, and the Audi looks to have provided the cars as they’re heavily featured.

All in all it’s not a bad film once you get past the first 30 minutes, but nothing especially memorable.

2.5 stars.