Review: Taken

I've been seeing the trailers for this for a while and it seemed like a pretty decent action flick, but Liam Neeson, as an ass-kicking ex-spy? I wasn't quite sure I was going to buy that one. It turns out that he's pretty good, and a pretty good fit for the role. A role that included some serious ass-kicking. Neeson was pretty good as the ex-agent, ex-husband, ex-father.

This is what a spy movie should be like, And Neeson what what a spy on a mission should be. No questions, no prisoners. People that don't get shot in regular spy movies? In this movie, they get shot. The whole thing is pretty visceral. Unfortunately, it's also the problem with this movie. The premise is simple, but effective. The action is great. The dialogue? Horrendous. The director knows how to direct an action sequence, but either doesn't recognize bad acting, can't be bothered to ask his actors to act well, doesn't know how or just doesn't care. We're talking groan worthy dialogue, just awful.

This one hasn't had too much success at the box office, but I really liked it. I can forgive the bad dialogue and acting since the action was great. You might not want to spend $11.00 to see it in the theater if you're not a big action buff, but it's a definite rental. One that I give


Seven Stars