A Particular Set of Skills

I am normally an advocate of not reading too much into movie previews. For one they are rarely made by the actual people who made the movie, they're often misleading, and many times better than what the movie actually is. It is rarity that a movie actually delivers everything the preview promises. Taken, is one such movie. Liam Neeson plays Bob, a retired CIA agent, who's daughter is kidnapped in a Paris hotel. He hears the entire event take place over the phone. When one of the kidnappers picks up the phone he makes his case that it is in their best interest to just let his daughter go as he has a very particular set of skills that when put to use will not be good for them. The man on the other end only says "good luck" and when the line is disconnected the game is on. After talking to an ex-teammate of his he is told he has approximately 96 hours before he never sees his daughter again. With that he boards a plane and proceeds to put that very particular set of skills to use.

Taken is from acclaimed French action movie writer/director/producer Luc Benson (Leon, La Femme Nikita, The Transporter series). He didn't direct the movie but did help pen it as well as produce as well. This movie is a return to form for him as most of his later works are either critical failures or don't see the light of day in the American market. Taken is a smart action movie. Bob is a calculating in every action he takes. You see him make the connections and follow the trail in the most logical sense. There are no over the top explosions, no elaborate fight sequences, and not much gore either. In fact the movie is rated PG-13. It is a movie without fat. Everything that the movie needs is present and all the unnecessary bits have been trimmed. People will be making comparisons with this movie and the Bourne series, so let me get mine out of the way. If The Bourne Identity has a degree in how to be a smart action movie, Taken has a doctorate. It's more than worth seeking out. A/9.5/97.