TAKEN

The long and short of it is that Liam Neeson took me by surprise (ba-dum-ching!).

I love French films. And this film, despite being helmed by an Irish actor, is French, through and through. Produced by Luc Besson. Financed by most of Europe. Takes place in Paris. Has on-the-nose dialogue that makes you kinda go, "Oookay, is this written badly...or is it written so well it feels bad?"

Ha. That's a trick question. And the answer is, "It's actually a mix of both."

Revolving around the violent kidnapping of a dumb-as-nails, pre-college Daddy's girl in the city of love, TAKEN offers enough action to make up for the mediocre dialogue. Who says older men can't still pack a punch? Liam is definitely still in fine form (thank you, editors), and he is a star. TAKEN will have you tense and riveted as you watch the dad you wish you had tear shit up to get his daughter back. That's unconditional love.

I've always been a fan of Mr. Neeson. From ETHAN FROME (creepy!) to LOVE, ACTUALLY (adorable!) to GUNSHY (so weird!), I find that whatever movie he's in, I like to see him. So if you haven't seen it yet, consider TAKEN and soon. There's a reason why it stayed in the box office top five for over a month. It's worth the rush.

the plot: "Forget it, Kidnapper. It's Liamtown."
the thought: Can classes teach those tricks?
in five: 4/5

get taken: http://www.takenmovie.com/