Inspired by the Taken trilogy of action movies starring Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA operative forced to use his skills to rescue members of his family kidnapped by revenge-seeking enemies, this NBC series serves as a sort-of prequel, with Mills beginning his espionage career, only in the present day. Clive Standen takes over from Neeson as the younger Mills in this debut season, which begins when Mills's sister is killed in a shootout aboard a train—a murder engineered by drug lord Carlos Mejia (initially played by Louis Ferreira and later by Romano Orzari), whose son Mills had killed earlier in Colombia. Seeking vengeance, Mills joins a team associated with the National Intelligence Office headed by Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals). After being trained in the ways of the trade, Mills plows through a series of missions against terrorists and drug kingpins—many including torture scenes and rescues—en route to an inevitable showdown with Mejia, who has abducted Mills's girlfriend Asha (Brooklyn Sudano) and is holding her on a plush Mexican estate. Ultimately, Taken is fairly generic action fare and Standen's Mills is an unremarkable hero. Compiling all 10 episodes from the 2017 first season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. Optional. (F. Swietek)
Taken: Season One
Lionsgate, 3 discs, 440 min., not rated, DVD: $39.99 Volume 33, Issue 1
Taken: Season One
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