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I do not really think of Liam Neeson as a badass. Sure, he as been in a couple of action films lately, most notably Batman Begins and the first Star Wars prequel, but no aura of James Bond or Jason Bourne ever made itself present. In his new film Taken, his image may be changed forever.

Taken - Liam Neeson as "Bryan Mills" | Photo from: www.movieweb.com

Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a father who has had a successful career in espionage. Thus his relationship with his ex-wife Lenore and daughter Kim (played by Maggie Grace of Lost fame) has been strained. When his daughter wants to go on a trip to Paris with no parental supervision, he hesitates before signing the papers allowing a minor to travel without a guardian. It soon becomes apparent that her trip is actually going to include a whole European tour following U2.

Bryan has a few preconditions about his daughter going. Namely that she must phone him every day, and especially when she lands in Paris. While on the phone with her dad, Kim sees her traveling companion kidnapped and knows that she is next. Having been trained for these situations, Bryan quickly tells her what she needs to do for her short term survival.

From there Bryan goes on a hunt for her captors. It becomes all too clear how the movie will turn out a quarter of the way through the film. That is not to say that there is not a slough of clever ways people are chased, tortured, or killed. However anyone who cannot foresee the outcome may never have watched a movie before.

Bryan really seems the only sane one in his family. He knows the risks and questions why his wife is so blasé about letting their daughter go off by herself for a few months. His daughter also does not seem to understand risk being easily talked into letting a strange man accompany them to where they are staying. Perhaps because they are teenagers they do not have any common sense.

Taken - Liam Neeson as "Bryan Mills" | Photo from: www.movieweb.com

The movie is never boring, but it is never really all that inspired either. It is fun to watch Neeson run around confronting the criminal organization he uncovers, but almost everything else seems cookie-cutter. The last scene feels very out of place and tacked on.

Certainly Liam Neeson has proved that he can handle an action picture. The next one, I hope, will be more to his caliber.

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