‘Taken’ not so original (3/5)

Taken

Rated: PG-13 for violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.
Running time: 1 hour 32 minutes

As far as action movies go, “Taken” hits right about on par. Starring Liam Neeson (“Star Wars,” “Schindler’s List”), Maggie Grace (“LOST,” “Jane Austen Book Club”), and Famke Janssen (“X-Men,” “Rounders”), the recognizable cast aids a lackluster script.

Director Pierre Morel makes his American Blockbuster premiere in this film about retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Neeson) who seeks his missing 17-year-old daughter Kim (Grace) after she is kidnapped by sex slave traders in Paris.

Mills’ former work as a “preventer” for the CIA (mentioned but not defined by Mills) gives reason for his overprotectiveness of his estranged daughter and convenient knowledge of tracking and martial arts. Yet this role is used as an explanation and is left at a superficial level. His group of friends and connection with French officials shallowly penetrates Mills’ past life, yet leaves the vast majority obscured.

One action movie stereotype that “Taken” would have benefited from diverging from was that of “highly trained, deadly killers” having the aim of Dick Cheney. Shootouts that should realistically end within seconds become drawn-out affairs. Government corruption, too, is another that Morel latches to, yet their unpunished behavior makes it seem more as a device to reel in the audience rather than as a legitimate plot point.

While still a film amateur, Grace does an excellent job in her role and Morel would have done well to use her more. The film is about Mills’ journey rather than Kim’s, yet more time spent fleshing out Kim’s character would have drawn the audience even more into the action. Despite this, the scene of her kidnapping is the film’s shining moment and is enough to hold the audience to the end.

Morel seems to have caught the sequel bug as rumors circulate in which Bryan Mills’ character is said to return. When is enough enough? The film does not necessitate a “part two” and will more than likely suffer from another.

Overall, “Taken” was a typical ticking-clock plot with cookie-cutter characters, but its short running time and modestly suspenseful scenarios will keep fans of the genre entertained before becoming lost in the sea of similar movies.

3 of 5 stars