Taken: 3 stars

Plot: Spy retires to reconnect with his daughter and be a better father. Daughter decides to go to Paris instead. Daughter gets taken. Father kicks some major Albanian, and anyone else who gets in the way, ass.

If you decide to see Taken, and don’t completely turn off the logic section of your brain, you’ll ask yourself many questions during the hour and thirty three minute run time. A few of those question may include the following: Who’s driving the boat?, Why was that screw loose in this very expensive house?, What did he do with that other girl with the jacket?, Can a public photo kiosk really enhance a photo that well?, How did he get home? While these are all very good questions, none of them will be answered, and I get the feeling the filmmakers didn’t really care about these small details. Taken is all about how badass Liam Neeson can be (and how dumb American girls can be) and just wants its viewers to have fun for a bit. This film is pure escapism at it’s finest.

Taken was broadly compared to the Bourne series, and rightfully so. However, every film in the Bourne series is far superior to Taken as whole. While they have their similarities, Taken lacks the superior script and filmmakers that the Bourne films have. This film is a short burst of suspense and all out action, and it does this quite well, but beyond that there isn’t much there. The bookends of the movie can be very cheesy and annoying at times. I realize the beginning and end need to be a stark contrast to how brutal Neeson is in the middle of the film in order for the viewer to accept it, but the acting and dialogue is a little much for me at times. However, Liam Neeson is fantastic in this role and we can probably expect a sequel to this as well as many other action flick offers.

I had a lot of fun watching Taken and would definitely watch it again. If you like fast paced action and revenge flicks then you’ll probably have a good time with the film as well. Maybe you’ll be able to tell me who is driving the boat.