Taken

Dopey, predictable, but also popcorn-movie-satisfying, the box-office hit Taken stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA covert field agent trying to mend fences with his estranged teenage daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). After Bryan reluctantly consents to Kim's request to accompany her BFF on a trip to Paris, the two American girls barely deplane before they're kidnapped by white slavers planning to spirit them out of the country in 48 hours. Not much time for Bryan to act, but he doesn't need much: the man is an unstoppable killing machine with a very personal stake in the outcome of his latest “mission.” Very little explanation of the sex-trafficking trade is offered in Taken; instead, producer Luc Besson and director Pierre Morel focus on a single aim: having Bryan crack as many skulls as possible in 90 minutes. The depersonalized (and often unnamed) villains exist only to be dispatched with occasionally ingenious but invariably brutal methods as the chases, fights, and shootouts whiz by with lightning speed. Neither subtle nor reflective, Taken is a thrill rush, but nothing more. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include both the theatrical and unrated versions, two audio commentaries (the first with director Pierre Morel, cinematographer Michel Abramowicz, and stunt coordinator Michel Julienne; the second with writer Robert Mark Kamen), a 19-minute “making-of” featurette, “Inside Action: Side-by-Side Comparisons” (11 min.), a five-minute segment on the film's premiere, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the “Black Ops Field Manual” feature, which offers pop-up facts and trivia accessible throughout the film. Both the double-disc DVD release and Blu-ray version also include a digital copy of the extended cut. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an entertaining if rather empty thriller.] (E. Hulse)