777 out of 777 people found the following review helpful:

5* Action Thriller, 5* Acting from Liam Neeson

Katrina from , 26th September, 2008

Honestly, this is the best action/thriller I've seen in years. It got my attention from the word go, and I was glued to the screen throughout. I very much respect Liam Neeson for his acting, and for the way he carefully chooses his roles (only the best will do!). Once again he has come up trumps with this fantastic film which deserves every success. Synopsis. A retired government secret agent (Neeson) is forced to use his skill and combat when his teenage daughter and best friend get kidnapped whilst travelling in Europe.

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110 out of 137 people found the following review helpful:

Fathers for Justice

citizenk from , 26th September, 2008

Liam Neeson stars in this surprisingly unstylish,subtle-as-a-sledgehammer revenge thriller from producer Luc Besson,and 'District 13' director Pierre Morel.Neeson plays a retired US government operative (I know,yawn) who's marriage has gone sour,but who still dotes on his daughter to an almost obsessional degree. When she and a friend decide to travel across Europe despite the dire misgivings of Neeson,you just know there's going to be trouble.And so it turns out.Neeson's daughter and her friend are kidnapped in France by generic swarthy foreigners in Paris,and forced into prostitution.From here on in the film shifts into Jason Bourne territory,that is to say it turns into a slick-ish continental thriller/shoot em up,but has none of the depth or imagination of the Bourne movies.In fact you'll really have to go some to see a more spiteful,mean spirited film this year(a torture scene involving electricity being particularly sadistic).Once again we are witness to numerous random acts of violence and carnage which incurr zero consequences. It's hard to make a case for the existence of this movie,so I won't.Neeson does his best work as the brooding father doting on his daughter,as soon as he goes into he-man mode the film sadly loses any credibility it had.

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85 out of 85 people found the following review helpful:

They messed with the wrong guy

Mickey Mouse from Dorset, England, 8th October, 2008

One of the best action thrillers I've seen in years. Despite not having as much press or hype, this movie is easily as good as the Bourne films, if not better. The quality is top-notch and the action is fast, frantic and constant throughout. It's more aimed at older viewers than the Bourne films though, as the plot is to do with the sex slave trade and can be quite hard-hitting at times. That said, the 15 certificate is spot on in my opinion. As someone who is quite easily offended and despises overly morbid or unpleasant content in movies, I thoroughly enjoyed this. It goes far enough to make it's point - the sex slave trade is horrendous and the monsters behind it are evil in it's purest form. Yet it doesn't go too far, to the point where it would become too distressing to watch. It's very focused on being a fast-paced, edge of your seat action-packed thriller. I wouldn't have chosen Liam Neeson as an action hero at all before seeing this, but I have to say he was the perfect choice. And although I scoffed at the thought initially, I reckon he could've played a good Bond, which he was offered to do. I've seen a lot of action films lately and this is truely something special, though not perfect (how many are?). Don't over-analyse, just enjoy watching the car chases, gun fights, punch-ups and explosions as Mr Neeson does whatever he has to to find his daughter. Despite sounding cliched, I actually found this to be quite resfreshingly different somehow from other action flicks. It's quite dark and visceral, and Liam Neeson's intensity on saving his daughter is incredibly gripping. It's utterly satisfying when he starts slaughtering the baddies, and boy did they mess with the wrong guy. Tons of awesome moments throughout - I'm absolutely gonna buy this when it's out on DVD, I've only just seen it at the cinema, but already I want to see it again. If you love action movies/series like the Bourne trilogy and 24, then go and see it, you'll love it.

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49 out of 66 people found the following review helpful:

Oi! Jason Bourne's dad! nooo!

Daymo from , 8th October, 2008

I kept wondering if Neeson was either wearing a toupee or has been splashing out on the old 'Just for men'. Yet again, the formula: (Man+Job)*Time=Man-(Wife+Daughter) ...comes into play. This results in: ((Man+Wife)-Daughter)+((Bad Guy * X) / (Man+Job))=Man+Daughter+Wife(ish) ...or something like that. This is 'paranoid dad' suffocating his offspring because he knows what the world is like and she doesn't. Which of course it is.....isn't it? Ah what do I know, I'm no security nutjob who has a penchant for striking the trachea of every ne'er-do-well who comes in his way. I don't think it's appalling; it just follows the same old Hollywood action factory built template with the usual failings in the screenplay. They just dust it off with whatever action sequences are akin to recent film favourites (in this case Bourne Identity and Bond). And we can't forget the jerky/fast camera movements that supposedly enhance the action on screen. Whatever happened to those raw/gritty action scenes such as the French Connection?

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Taken

A Customer from Isle of Lewis, 6th November, 2009

Absolutely brilliant film definately worth watching.Good story line ,fanatastic action all the way through.Would recomend this film.

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Liam Neeson kicks ass

nicolaposkitt from , 6th November, 2009

This is definitely a must see..however you will never let your children go travelling after watching this!

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taken

A Customer from Preston, 5th November, 2009

absolutely brilliant film, shudnt work with neeson being oldish but it does work and works brilliantly from the word go. this film is deffinately a must see film of the year along with 'drag me to hell'. the action from the offest keeps you pinned to the screen. you end up shouting and egging the main character to do well. ill not tell you wether he does or not, 5 full stars of entertainment.

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I loved this film

A Customer from Manchester, 5th November, 2009

Saw it at the cinema and had to see it again. It made me cry at the end. Wish I had a dad like him

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