It may seem hard to believe but there really was a time when Liam Neeson was known for a surprising and diverse range of films. He gained worldwide recognition for Schindler’s List and then went on to such films as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, K-19: The Widowmaker and Kinsey as well as supporting but memorable parts in films like Love Actually and Batman Begins. But after a certain point, his career entered what might be called a cul-de-sac where, instead of getting a lot of different work he ended up in a lot of films, mainly action, that didn’t have a lot of care or passion put into them. Neeson would be competent enough in the leading role but when the best comment you could make about his work of the last decade or so is that some of it is better than others, there’s not much else that needs to be said. And if you were to ask anyone where this part of Neeson’s career started, you are likely to get the same answer every time, the 2008 film Taken.
Neeson stars as former CIA agent Bryan Mills who is divorced from his wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) due to his commitment to his career; but he still wants to be there for his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who wants his permission to travel to Paris with a friend. He says no at first, since his job has made him perhaps too paranoid of what the world is like, but he quickly relents and lets her go. Just as Kim arrives in Paris she’s abducted and that leads Mills there himself to find her by any means necessary.
Touching again on Neeson’s work in the aftermath of this film, it might be alleged that that he has no range as an actor any more, but here there really is a variety of talent on display. He can play the caring and careful dad perfectly, as well as the relentless and brutal man who doesn’t care what he has to do to find his daughter. Not to mention a moment where he’s with a girl who has succumbed to the fate that is waiting for Kim unless he moves quickly, and you can see and feel the concern and fear in his eyes.
Of course, I have to mention the famous phone call where Mills talks about his “particular set of skills.” It has been parodied to death which in some cases could be problem, but it doesn’t here. All these years later it’s still very well acted, every word coming out of Neeson feels credible and it’s easy to see why it has become so well known.
Neeson is in practically every single scene of the film and while there are other actors involved like Grace, Jensen, Leland Orser and Xander Berkeley, they’re really just doing what the film needs them to do and that’s more or less it.
When looking at Taken it’s a concept that feels very familiar and simple. Before Taken a lot of action thrillers especially in the 80s and 90s were very over the top and almost cartoonish and could even be laughed at. But thanks to way the idea has been approached here by the director Pierre Morel, instead of dumb action the film offers intense visceral action with both fists and guns, as well as knives and an obligatory car chase that are in no way stylised or made to look glamorous. The action scenes are done well enough and while it did feel like there was tricky cutting going on during them, it was nothing on the level seen in some films that would come in Taken’s wake.
One thing that really surprised me on revisiting Taken was its pacing. Its only 90 minutes long and even within that, a great deal manages to be squeezed in. In fact the abduction itself happens further on into the film than might have been expected, and meanwhile time can be given to developing the character of Mills. We see him having dinner with former colleagues and going on something of a mini-mission with them. Not a compulsory move but one that I think should be admired. Mills does do questionable things like threatening to shoot an innocent woman but what keeps him from being unlikeable is that it’s never forgotten why he is doing this and why he feels the need to resort to such brutal methods. Another aspect of the character that I like is that before he goes on to location after location, guns blazing, we as viewers see him engage in a little investigation. He tries to piece together what has happened and gathers information and details which come up again when the plot needs them in order to move forward. It’s small things like this that I think elevate Taken to a better place if it had been made by lesser hands.
Even more surprisingly, it was written by Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Beeson. One of them wrote The Karate Kid while the other had previously directed both The Fifth Element and Arthur And The Invisibles – all of which couldn’t be any more different from each other, and from Taken and I think this worked very well for those involved in its writing.
If there is anything that I should complain about, the third act maybe goes on for a little too long. It’s trying to build up to the climax so I can’t be too harsh but I still don’t approve of it much.
I do find it a little odd that when thinking about the plot I was instantly reminded of Commando. It’s another fairly short action film with a similar plot, but what sets it apart is the tone – Commando was practically a comedy while there is nothing to laugh at with Taken.
Taken is a good example of a surprise success – it was a hit with audiences and no doubt made more money then expected. Critical reaction seemed mixed, but that didn’t stop two inferior and unwarranted sequels with terrible camerawork, as well as a TV show On Amazon Prime. All of which are now no more. Taken may have become a franchise that slowly died from what I can only guess was lack of interest, but the original film is well made, written and acted. It may have led to its star being typecast but for what it is, it’s far better than It had any right to be, a sentiment I think many people share. I’ve never seen myself as someone who would enjoy a holiday in Paris and after watching this I don’t think I’ll ever want to.
