Taken

Taken

2008

Director: Pierre Morel

Writer: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen

93 Minutes

Taken was a under-rated blockbuster hit taking in over 145 million dollars, escalating Liam Neeson action career to new highs and letting the American people in on the sex trafficking trade in Europe.

And then there is this line:

“I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

Taken is an action thriller about a former government agent who needs to save his kidnapped daughter that will be forced into sex trade in less than 96 hours.

“There are going to take you,” Bryan (Liam Neeson) tells his daughter when intruders enter her Paris apartment.

Once taken, Bryan has to find out who did this, track them down, and get his daughter back. In the process, he literally kicks the shit out of every scum bag in the sex trading industry, which all leads to one man: St-Clair (Gerard Watkins)

In the scene above, Bryan has found St-Clair and asks for his daughter back. St-Clair understands Bryan’s pain – having children himself – but cites how business cannot be stopped. St-Clair orders Bryan killed and returns to his party.

But, Bryan escapes. He steals a gun and heads for St-Clair.

In the elevator, St-Clair stands in awe. After telling his henchmen to kill Bryan and explain Bryan's daughter's life, virginity, and existence is unimportant, St-Clair knows it’s over.

Bryan shoots him.

“Please understand…it was all business. It wasn’t personal,” St-Clair says.

Bryan shoots him again. “It was all personal to me.”

This scene is the ultimate revenge. With this kill, he ends the sex trade and stops future daughters being abducted. With this kill, he understands this man, St-Clair, has no moral conscious and by killing him, he ends this terrible race. With this kill, he knows he’ll get his daughter back.

And once Bryan eventually completes his journey, he emotionally connects with his daughter, which was his overall goal throughout the picture.

Final death count: 35

In the end, Taken is one of those films that you watch five minutes and you have to finish the rest. It’s amazingly exciting, thrilling, and fun. There are so few high-concept films out there that have this energy.

And that is sad.