Liam Neeson adds some sheer toughness to this gritty extraordinarily bloody thriller as a cool patient killer, but that's about it. The rest of the film is just another one of thse overblown action movies like the ones Jean-Claude Van Damme used to do back in the 70s and 80s. The plot is highly unconvincing as Neeson leads a bloody gruesome one man carnage against a gang of slave-traders who have kidnapped his daughter (Katie Cassidy) putting his skills as an ex-CIA agent to the extremes. The amount of stomacj-churning violence becomes way too much and the action sequences don't need to be so over-the-top. Taken is no smarter or anyway better than the average bone-cruncher.

Rarely has a film hit a note, when highlighting what most of us, who live in our little words, the plight of girls forced into prostitution and drugs around the world, by what only can be described at pure evil.

Liam Nesson at the ripe old age of 56 has re-invented himself as an action hero! yes i did say "action hero" the fight scenes put you in mind of the oh so great Bourne Films, and i have to say Liam Neeson is truly convincing as a desperate Father with a unique set skills that make evil Albanian Gangsters quake in their boots.

The chase was breathtaking and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through this film and while he is dishing out the kind of revenge normal people like us only dream of to the badies, you cant help but think give me more!

This really is one of the best action films i have seen in a long time and hope that Hollywood accepts that this could well be a trilogy in the making, that if Liam Nesson has the strength to do another.

I urge you all to go see this film and spread the word. Happy viewing

Samantha Cooper - London

To steal a line from the official review this movie is guiltless pleasure
its an action thriller with the fat removed.
It does what it states on the tin

Where so many movies of this genre fail to live up to expectation TAKEN.......does

NEESON....is convincing......family relationships between the characters work,the violence is unique and justifies itself

TAKEN raises the bar once again for all who watch and produce these types of films

Alot has been said on the awkwardness of the daughter......the character choices ARE spot on, it helps the audience empathise with the situation without politic.......example/using a younger age for character or actress..........

A useful tool with the amount of violence/racial profiling/etc already in the film
steff

Disappointing story, disappointing acting, disappointing direction!!! Why did so many of the 'critics' rate this film so highly???? For the first time in 40 years of film-going I walked out before the end.

Even Liam Neeson, who is normally a good actor, looked and sounded unbelievable. The girl (Maggie Grace) was ridiculous. High School TV trash actors have done better. At 25 she didn't even look the part of a 17 year-old. The mother, with her cheap plastic surgery, looked and performed like a third rate Hollywood actor. I won't even go into the xenophobic and unbelievable story line, which outdid the worst that ever came out of Tinsel Town. Suffice to say, do not waste your time & money on this film.

Let me start by saying how disappointed i was by this film, i Had high expectations as other reviews where so high, if i sum this up in one word it would be "forgettable".
As i film lover i do not recommend this film at all it's a boring wast of time and i was cheeking my watch for it to be over, a real snooze fest.

This is probably one of the best films I have ever seen. It is frightening on a psychological level which is portrayed in a very believable way which only makes it more effective. The ransom story is a bit of a cliche in movies now, but this storyline here is by no means old-hat because of the unusual and horrifying situation behind the kidnapping. I was on the edge of my seat the entire way through and think this was a little bit of a masterpiece. Five BIG stars!

Is it just me or is this really a very xenophobic film?