Taken (2008)

[6]

Liam Neeson stars as an ex-CIA operative who pursues sex traffickers in Paris to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Taken opens with twenty minutes of clunky, expository screenwriting before Neeson is allowed to kick things into high gear. He single-handedly rescues this formula potboiler with a performance of fierce determination. Not since the likes of Clint Eastwood has an actor threatened to find and kill the bad guy with such overwhelming credibility. None of the rest of the cast have nearly as much to work with, especially poor Famke Janssen as Neeson’s bitter ex-wife. But as popcorn munchers go, Taken checks off all the right boxes. It has the chase scenes, fight scenes, moments of intense violence, an exotic backdrop, and above all, star power. Some of its most memorable moments are ones that lift the veil on the true horrors of sex trafficking, with haunting scenes of teenagers being assaulted, drugged, and sold. With Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, and Xander Berkeley.