Taken took first place this past weekend for a reason

New action adventure film Taken has wrestled the number one spot at the U.S. box office from Kevin James' comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop, taking in $24.6 million in its opening weekend (31Jan/01Feb09). The thriller, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace, nabbed the prize after James scored two weeks at the top spot with his role as an overzealous security guard, with takings of $14 million in his film's third week.


20th Century Fox’s “Taken” posted the second best Superbowl weekend debut behind only “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour” with an estimated $24.6 million from 3,183 theatres. Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Xander Berkeley, Jon Gries and Katie Cassidy star in the Pierre Morel (“District B13,” “From Paris with Love”) helmed film based on the writing by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen (“Transporter” series and “The Fifth Element”).

This is a realistically brutal film about a father hunting down those who kidnapped his daughter for sale in a white slavery ring. Liam Neeson shows both his character's past as a spy and concealed rage at the same time. Liam Neeson does a very solid job, having been trained by a former member of the SAS, at handling the physicality of the role. Taken is by far the most adrenaline pumping, action packed thriller I've seen in awhile. Taken stars Liam Neeson as Brian Mills an ex-black op's agent who while trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter allows her to go to Paris for some fun and relaxation away from home. But as soon as they get there she is kidnapped by a group of men who are involved in human trafficking. Now Brian has less than 48 hours to find her or she's gone forever. Taken is one of the most well made movies to come out this year, it's an amazing thrill ride that you cant miss. I very highly recommend this movie.


Maggie Grace, played Neeson's daughter in the film and she did an outstanding job. She plays a very sheltered 17 year old who is wanting to have that freedom that most teenage girls want to have. She is extremely naive and doesn't realize that bad things can in fact happen to young women in our world. In my opinion she is a vastly underrated talent!! She became more widely known while she stared on ABC's hit show LOST while playing the role of Shannon Rutherford.


The direction is solid on this film. The flash and spin of a car chase is handled, almost mimicked, like Paul Greengrass handled the Bourne films. This film is steeped in realism and the visuals kept in that framework.


Make no mistake, there is a point to this film other than "the end justifies the means" or "a father needs to save his little girl". It also sheds light on the very real threat of young women traveling overseas who get taken for white slavery rings. Do the research on this topic and you may find jarring reports and articles on the subject. This is a very telling and appropriate film for a topic such as this.


This is definitely a must see movie! We, as people in the US, need to see this film to help vent our frustrations on where things are with this country. Call it sympathetic aggression relief if you will. The need to exult at someone doing all that is necessary to save someone they love, someone they would die for, is great right now.


My final review: While I admit to getting in at a discount rate due to using my student ID at the theater I saw the film at, I would pay full price to see this film. A matinee showing is an exceptional deal for this movie. This is not a "must wait for the dollar theater to see it" type of film unless you are financially strapped. I would definitely go and see this movie again and pay full price, that's how good it really was!


The critics:

I am still trying to figure out how critics get hired? This movie is another reason why I don't listen to critics because if I did, I probably wouldn't see it. The average grade for this movie by the critics is a C which is outrageous. This movie has a little bit of everything from action to drama. The acting is great as well. I think a lot of people take for granted how good of an actor Neeson is. I wish these "critics" would give good movies good grades. Don't take my word for it, go see Taken.