Taken (2008/I)

Director:

Pierre Morel

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (written by) &
Robert Mark Kamen (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

They took his daughter. He'll take their lives.

Plot:

A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been forced into the slave trade.

Plot Keywords:

Stepfather | Agent | Screaming | Stealing Car | Raspberry Banana Milkshake

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 8	12:30 PM	HBO
Tue. Dec. 8	8:00 PM	HBO

Cast

Liam Neeson	...	Bryan Mills
Maggie Grace	...	Kim
Leland Orser	...	Sam
Jon Gries	...	Casey
David Warshofsky	...	Bernie
Holly Valance	...	Sheerah
Katie Cassidy	...	Amanda
Xander Berkeley	...	Stuart
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean-Claude
Gérard Watkins	...	St-Clair
Famke Janssen	...	Lenore
Marc Amyot	...	Pharmacist
Arben Bajraktaraj	...	Marko
Radivoje Bukvic	...	Anton (as Rasha Bukvic)
Mathieu Busson	...	Undercover agent

Also Known As:

Búsqueda implacable (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) (Uruguay) (working title) (Venezuela) [es]
Busca Implacável (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
96 Hours (Germany) [de]
96 saat (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
96 sati (Croatia) [hr]
I arpagi (Greece) [el]
Io vi troverò (Italy) [it]
Röövitud (Estonia) [et]
Teroare in Paris (Romania) [ro]
Uprowadzona (Poland) [pl]
Venganza (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Albanian | Arabic

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG-13 (cut version) | Australia:MA | UK:15 (edited version) | New Zealand:R16 | Ireland:15A | South Africa:16LV | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | France:-12 | Brazil:16 | UK:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Chile:Y7 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:15 (uncut version) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) (DVD rating) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) (uncut version) | Hong Kong:IIB | Denmark:15 | Austria:16 | Iceland:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Mexico:B15

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

Former Special Air Service (SAS) soldier Mick Gould trained Liam Neeson in combatives and weapons handling skills to prepare him for the role.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Brian is taking care of the prostitute who had his daughters jacket, the prostitute has a white glob on her chin, and later on, that glob disappears.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Singh: Mr. Mills, how are you?
Bryan: I'm fine. How are you?
Singh: Very fine. I suppose you want to see it again?
Bryan: You should know why I'm here.
Singh: You know where it is.
Bryan: Oh yeah.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Echelon Conspiracy/Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li/Crossing Over (#1.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Tick, tick, boom

Neeson is the vodka of James Bond's martini

The most thrilling movie I've seen in a long time. Neeson is what we would fear if James Bond went to hell and came back for revenge (I doubt big budget Quantum of Solace will top this). I loved Jason Bourne; but where Bourne is confused for half the movie, Neeson is looking down a barrel of a pistol 3/4 of the time. In a three way spy battle, I would put Neeson edging out Bourne, who would be a step ahead of Bond.

Between the jaw-dropping action sequences was the subject matter of international trafficking, which was pretty miserable to watch. Although homicide is wrong, death was never more satisfying to watch.