Taken - 2 1/2 smiles

“Taken,” an action flick starring Liam Neeson, is so full of adrenalin-pumping action that you’re not supposed to think about how preposterous the plot is. It’s never boring, but it doesn’t make for engaging post-viewing conversation either. Bryan Mills (Neeson) is a competent ex-government operative intent on reconnecting with his 17-year old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). She, however, wants his signature on a permission slip allowing her to spend a few weeks in Paris with a friend. Against his better judgment, Bryan allows her to go after some cutting remarks from his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen). When he next hears from Kin, she’s in danger. A group of men have broken into the apartment in Paris and are after her. Armed with little concrete information, Bryan heads for Europe. The path leads him into a maze that includes corrupt police, Albanian mobsters, and white slave traffickers.

For an actor of Neeson’s caliber, the role is not challenging. He’s not required to do much more than look grim and participate in the carefully choreographed action sequences. However, he brings an element of quality to the movie that an actor of lesser stature would not have. There’s no single villain at the top of the bad guy totem pole so Bryan’s goal is to eliminate everyone with any degree of involvement in Kim’s kidnapping. And the script by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen piles coincidence upon coincidence. That Bryan is able to find his daughter within 96 hours of her disappearance means that he has to have some help somehow, even if it’s from a weak script. Finally, it’s surprising that this movie, with its high body count and graphic depictions of torture and stark images of death, missed an R rating. The MPAA deems this movie appropriate for teenagers when others could argue that it’s not appropriate for some adults. So if you’re an action junkie and you don’t mind extreme violence, “Taken” is for you. If not, skip it. 2/1/09