Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. For the better part of the last 365 days, the Luc Besson-written and -produced TAKEN has been opening country by country across the world until it finally hits screens in America this weekend. I'm guessing this film has been out on DVD already in some lands for quite some time, so those of you desperate enough to see this probably already have. But for the rest of us, the long wait it over--I've been seeing trailers for this film on and off for about six months now. And I'm happy to report the wait is mostly worth it. This is a quick-fix, shot of adrenaline in the brain work that doesn't offer much in the way of character development or plot, but has just enough of both to make this an above-average thriller and one of the better offerings I've seen from the Besson camp in recent years. Perhaps an unlikely--although certainly not unwelcome--choice for our hero is Liam Neeson playing Bryan Mills, a seemingly mild-mannered father who has recently quit his government job and relocated to be closer to his 17-year-old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace, once of "Lost"), who has lived with her mother (Famke Janssen) and exceedingly wealthy stepfather. Kim seems open to allowing her long-absent father back into her life, but a lot of time has passed when he hasn't been there for her because of his mysterious job, and Bryan is impatient to reconnect. On the eve of a lunch Bryan and Kim area supposed to have together, Bryan is pulled by some old work buddies into a one-night, well-paid security job that involves playing babysitter to a young pop star, whose life Bryan saves from a stalker's knife. This is the first chance we get to see just how well trained this man is, and the veil is slowly lifted from his past. At lunch, Kim proposes a long trip to Europe with her best friend that her father must sign off on in order for it to happen. At first, he's against the idea, but then he relents with certain conditions, all pertaining to her safety. If you can get past the fact that this daughter character is a shallow, selfish, world-class manipulator (not unlike her mother), you might actually care what happens to her as much as her father does. It's not an easy task. Sure enough, the two girls have barely landed in Paris when they are both snatched from the house where they are staying. Kim has just enough time to call her father before she is taken, and in the brief conversation, she conveys enough information to set him down the path to finding her, while maiming or killing everyone involved in the abduction with an efficiency that is quite wonderful to behold. Through the course of the film, we find out that Bryan was a "preventer" for the government--a preventer of bad things, according to him. And he possesses some very special skills that make him uniquely qualified to deal with just these circumstances (and many others, I'm guessing). Part Jack Bauer, part Jason Bourne, with a little bit of Daniel Craig's James Bond thrown in, Neeson actually does a particularly stellar job pulling this role off and making us sense this man's desperation not to lose his daughter that he's foolishly waited this long to get to know. His search puts him into contact with some fairly seedy characters and situations (although TAKEN manages to barely maintain a PG-13 rating--I imagine there's an R-rated version just dying to get out). The guy has no qualms about torturing the guilty--or the innocent if he must. There's one sequence in particular that may not sit well with people, when he shoots the innocent wife of a former ally who is holding back vital information Bryan needs. It's a totally unexpected moment that will make some people scream and others smile. Bryan routinely promises a stay of execution in exchange for information, then doesn't live up to his side of the bargain. It's a great thing. Director and Besson protégé Pierre Morel (DISTRICT 13, and whose next film with Besson, FROM PARIS WITH LOVE, already has a pretty great trailer) has a real gift for staging fight sequences in tight quarters and choreographing exciting foot chases. I realize this is fairly familiar territory in today's action landscape, but there's something extra brutal and painful in the way Morel handles it. The final act when we find out exactly why Kim has been kidnapped (not there's any big surprise) might be a bit of a letdown for some--it was for me--if only because it was a bit obvious, rushed, and doesn't play out in an inventive way. For all of you proud Americans, beware of the not-so-subtle subtext here about American behavior. Kim and her friend are loud, annoying American teens who just want to come to Europe to party and hook up with French guys. Bryan represents the administration under which he served. Torture and cold-blooding killing come as naturally to him as brushing his teeth. It seems like a fairly clear-cut undercurrent throughout the film that's easy to push to the side, but impossible to ignore. Still, Neeson adds enough substance to his character that you can literally see him lift the material upon his shoulders and carry it to the finish line. TAKEN is far from a great film, but looking at the landscape of new releases right now, it's one of the better ones that isn't up for an award in a couple of weeks. -- Capone capone@aintitcoolmail.com
