Taken - Extended Cut
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Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbDUREBwUg
I have been meaning to see this since the day it came out, but like all things, it just got lost in the shuffle. Every once in a while I would remember it or hear a discussion about Taken and tell myself it was time to check it out once and for all. Fastforward 4 years and here I am, ready to review the film.
So, was it worth the wait? Hell f u c k i n g yeah it was! Other than the trailer that I saw 4 years ago, I have stayed away from all spoilers and knew nothing about the plot. Even during the discussions on forums or talking heads on TV, I would steer clear of it and I'm glad I did. I have been a huge fan of Liam Neeson for such a long time and it just blows my mind that it's taken (pun not intended) his entire career to make him a legit action hero. First in this movie, then in The A-Team (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/the-a-team-(2010)/msg7507/#msg7507) and most recently in Battleship.
The first thing that I immediately noticed when watching Taken is that it is very reminiscent of the Jason Bourne (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/the-bourne-ultimatum/msg8602/#msg8602) series. Not that they have the same plot or anything. Just in the way the movie is shot and the hand to hand combat is similar and I like it that way. The movie has a certain intensity that just keeps escalating in carnage like a video game the closer he gets to finding his daughter. If there is one negative I have with the movie, or more specifically with a character, it's Kimmy played by Maggie Grace, best known as Shannon from Lost (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/lost-(season-1-2004)/msg9623/#msg9623) is that she seems to be really clueless about what is important, especially at the end when she is reunited with her mother. I would think that she would want to ride in the car with the man, her father, that just saved her life. I'm nitpicking here, but if I was in that same situation I know I would be crushed, ya know.
Anyway, I highly recommend this action packed thriller written by Luc Besson who has given us Léon: The Professional (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/leon-the-professional-(1994)/msg8588/#msg8588) and The Fifth Element (http://pennycan.createaforum.com/dvd's-blu-rays/the-fifth-element-(1997)/msg9196/#msg9196). Definite Buy for sure.
Taken Blu-ray Screencaps
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