Taken by Taken

We live in a new time, a new era. And no I'm not talking about Obama's presidency, I'm talking about action movies. More specifically an era where action films can take you by surprise and completely leg sweep you to the floor. That film is by Pierre Morel and it's called Taken. Taken has ventured into this new style or realm of action movie filmmaking joining the likes of movies such as, MI3, Casino Royale and The Bourne Ultimatum. Honestly I don't even remember the first two Mission Impossibles or the first two Bourne films being this gritty and in your face with the action. I vividly remember turning to my friends after a screening of the Bourne Ultimatum and pondering out loud, "when did Matt Damon become such a badass?". Long gone are the witty quips and one-liners when the good guy dispatches a bad guy. You won't hear a single, "Yippee-Kye-Yay!" or, "I'll be back!" in Taken but let me tell you, this is a very good thing.

Taken revolves around a very simple premise, a former American spy/agent who has "a very particular set of skills" is out to track down and find his kidnapped daughter and will do anything within his disposal to find her. It's thrilling because it seems as though suddenly overnight, every major celebrity in Hollywood has become just as fast as Jet Li and just as lethal as OJ Simpson. Or at least the editors and DP's have managed to use just the right angles and quick cuts to make you believe so. The action is so fast and frenetic and the editing is done so hastily, sometimes it's almost hard to keep up.

Liam Neeson stars as the former spy and Maggie Grace (of LOST fame) plays his daughter. Famke Janssen also has a supporting role as the divorced wife of Liam Neeson's character. I never really thought Liam Neeson could carry the lead action role of a film but he does so in Taken and he does so very well. Although I've always seen Liam as hardly threatening or intimidating, he utterly convinces you otherwise here. Like a timebomb you are just waiting for him to explode and with each second that passes in the film, the talented directing and acting makes you realize he is just getting more vicious and desperate every step of the way.

Yes the action film has hit a new benchmark and it seems each film in this new style of the action genre is trying their best to outdo the last one. Taken has definitely met this new benchmark and I look forward to the next outing from director Pierre Morel.