Film and DVD Review: Taken

There's been a for as long as I can remember that those fat, loud people over the pond have always, for one reason or another, got all the good stuff first. But we Brits have never questioned this, oh no. We've muttered under our breath about it certainly, that's what we do, but we never outright complain; for the simple reason that we know that when there's the rare, brilliant occurrence that we get something before America does, we're not going to let them forget it.

Taken is one such example of a film that's only just found it's way through the maze of Wal-Marts, McDonalds and discount gun stores and into American cinemas, but has already been released on DVD in pretty much everywhere else. So, this review - which I wasn't really planning on doing otherwise - is for the benefit of those lovely people in the US of A. Yes, you with the cheeseburger, that means you.

So Taken stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, an ex-government agent who is forced out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped by Albanian sex traffickers. After landing in Paris, Mills doesn't stop for breath before he starts building up a body count, ruthlessly tearing through the criminal underground in the trendy Bourne-esque fashion. It's a genuine thriller, superbly interlacing suitably gritty and violent punch-ups with some deeply disturbing scenes of torture and trafficking, all the while maintaining a level of realism that never shaves off the dramatic edge.

The performances in general are alright, although the majority of the characters are so deeply rooted in stereotype that it really is very difficult to like them in the first place, but instead of putting you off, they just serve to make Neeson's lead character that much more appealing. Mills is flawed on so many levels; he's over protective, he's ruthless, and treats most of the people around him with a cold, professional disdain, but with his intentions so pure and almost everyone standing in his way more than deserving of their punishment it's impossible not to like him, and Neeson's portrayal of him is nothing short of superb.

Strangely, when it comes to music, Taken is surprisingly quiet. There isn't anything like the thumping rhythm of The Dark Knight, or the heroic trumpeting of Indiana Jones, instead the diegetic sound tends to take over, with the music in most scenes making for faint background. This is by no means a bad thing, but with the rest of the film being so typically Hollywood it feels a bit out of place or indecisive. It's not about to ruin an otherwise very good film, but if your used to similar Hollywood-style films it's might be a little off-putting.

With that said, Taken is definitely worth a look. It's an absolutely thrilling ride and Neeson is, as always, a class act.

4/5

It's films like this which make me sad that they killed off Qui-Gon Jinn so quickly.

Les DVD Special Features:

This is an occasion that I've been savouring for a while, one that is even rarer than a film being released everywhere else in the world before a release in the US. The time when I can safely summarise the material with three short, simple words: What the fuck?

Taken is, for the most part, spoken in English. The main character speaks English, most of the supporting characters speak English, and half the time the French characters speak English, albeit with a heavy accent. So where do they get off putting all the extras in French, and without subtitles?

Still, it's not as if there is much in the extras worth watching. The making-of section is fairly interesting, but nothing else is really worth your time. Not unless you're really interested in how various scenes which have undergone strenuous editing looked before they were edited. Because that's really interesting stuff, right?

No. The special features are absolute rubbish, you'd be wasting your time if you went anywhere near them.

1/5

Yes I know the director is French but still, at least throw in bloody subtitles.

Loves America really - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk