[ALL Reviews/Opinions by Gary Cabana, the Reel Reviewer]
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career.
Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.
But if you don't ... I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
-Bryan
TAKEN
Having a teenaged daughter can be a real pain (as most fathers already know), but what do you do when the bad guys kidnap her out of a Paris apt. in order to "sell" her to the highest bidder and the local police are little if any help ... you KICK ASS!
3-1/4 stars (out of 4) [(2008)France/2009 USA release/FOX/Rated PG-13] - (1 hr 34 min)
Directed by Pierre Morel
Written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen
Original Music by Nathaniel Mechaly
Cinematography by Michel Abramowicz
Cast ... Lead character:
Liam Neeson ... Bryan Mills (Retired "agent" & father)
Review:
"Based on what they know about the way these groups operate, our analyst says you have a 96 hour window from the time she was grabbed."
-Sam
The ticking clock. The key to a good thriller. With each passing second the deeper the protagonist must get in order to obtain the prize ... in this case, his prized teenaged daughter.
The second key to the thriller genre is a powerful leading man. What would the 007 series be without James Bond, or the Bourne trilogy without its title character. Lucky for everyone involved in this project they chose Irish-born actor Liam Neeson, whose six feet four inch frame fills the screen while being compounded by the fearsome intensity of his performance.
If you like movies that "kick-arse," catch this one on the big screen and watch Neeson deliver the big hurt to some people that sincerely deserve every punch. This may not top Oscar's list at the end of the year but for genre fans it totally delivers!
"I believe you ... but it's not going to save you." -Bryan
Cast ... Supporting characters:
Maggie Grace ... Kim (age 17/Bryan's daughter/goes missing on trip)
Famke Janssen ... Lenore (Kim's mother/Bryan's ex-wife)
Olivier Rabourdin ... Jean-Claude (French agent)
Gérard Watkins ... St-Clair (bad guy #2/White slavery trafficker)
Katie Cassidy ... Amanda (age 19/Kim's friend/Trip organizer)
Arben Bajraktaraj ... Marko (bad guy #1/the kidnapper)
Xander Berkeley ... Stuart (Lenore's new husband)
Leland Orser ... Sam ("Security" man/Bryan's pal)
David Warshofsky ... Bernie ("Security" man/Bryan's pal)
Jon Gries ... Casey ("Security" man/Bryan's pal)
Cameo:
Holly Valance (Euro-pop singer/ "Kiss Kiss"-2002) ... Sheerah (U.S. pop star)
Additional cast (from IMDbPRO.com):
Nicolas Giraud ... Peter (Tourist spotter @
airport)Goran Kostic ... Gregor (Albanian translator)
Massad ... Sheik Raman (wins the "virgin")
Jalil Naciri ... Ali (bids for Sheik in slave auction)Fani Kolarova ... Parisian Prostitute (gets faux proposition from Bryan)Helena Soubeyrand ... Girl with Kim's Jacket
MOVIE website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soundtrack info (from IMDbPRO.com)
Please note that songs listed here (and in the movie credits) cannot always be found on CD soundtracks. Please check CD track details for confirmation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-Opening - composed by Nathaniel Mechaly**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-"Change" - Written by Joy Denalane (and Max Herre and Sekou A. Neblett and Lupe Fiasco and B. Krass and Curtis Mayfield) - Courtesy of Nesola GmbH and Four Music Productions GmbH and Sony BMG Music Entertainment GmbH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-Permission to Go to Paris**
4-To the Airport**
5-The Concert**
6-There's Somebody Here**
7-Pursuit at Roissy**
8-On the Rooftop**
9-96 Hours**
10-The Construction Site**
11-Pursuit at the Construction Site**
12-Saving Amanda**
13-Escape From St Clair**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14-Tick Tick, Boom - Performed by The Hives
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 Hotel Camelia**
16 The Auction**
17 Pursuit by the Seine**
18 On the Boat**
19 The Last Fight**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20-"The Dragster Wave" - Performed by Ghinzu (end credits) / YouTube clip
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional tracks (movie only):
"xtc" and "inside my head" - Performed by pauline de saxe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I found him, he’s dead." -Bryan
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career.
Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.
But if you don't ... I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
-Bryan
TAKEN
Having a teenaged daughter can be a real pain (as most fathers already know), but what do you do when the bad guys kidnap her out of a Paris apt. in order to "sell" her to the highest bidder and the local police are little if any help ... you KICK ASS!
3-1/4 stars (out of 4) [(2008)France/2009 USA release/FOX/Rated PG-13] - (1 hr 34 min)
Directed by Pierre Morel
Written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen
Original Music by Nathaniel Mechaly
Cinematography by Michel Abramowicz
Cast ... Lead character:
Liam Neeson ... Bryan Mills (Retired "agent" & father)
Review:
"Based on what they know about the way these groups operate, our analyst says you have a 96 hour window from the time she was grabbed."
-Sam
The ticking clock. The key to a good thriller. With each passing second the deeper the protagonist must get in order to obtain the prize ... in this case, his prized teenaged daughter.
The second key to the thriller genre is a powerful leading man. What would the 007 series be without James Bond, or the Bourne trilogy without its title character. Lucky for everyone involved in this project they chose Irish-born actor Liam Neeson, whose six feet four inch frame fills the screen while being compounded by the fearsome intensity of his performance.
If you like movies that "kick-arse," catch this one on the big screen and watch Neeson deliver the big hurt to some people that sincerely deserve every punch. This may not top Oscar's list at the end of the year but for genre fans it totally delivers!
"I believe you ... but it's not going to save you." -Bryan
Cast ... Supporting characters:
Maggie Grace ... Kim (age 17/Bryan's daughter/goes missing on trip)
Famke Janssen ... Lenore (Kim's mother/Bryan's ex-wife)
Olivier Rabourdin ... Jean-Claude (French agent)
Gérard Watkins ... St-Clair (bad guy #2/White slavery trafficker)
Katie Cassidy ... Amanda (age 19/Kim's friend/Trip organizer)
Arben Bajraktaraj ... Marko (bad guy #1/the kidnapper)
Xander Berkeley ... Stuart (Lenore's new husband)
Leland Orser ... Sam ("Security" man/Bryan's pal)
David Warshofsky ... Bernie ("Security" man/Bryan's pal)
Jon Gries ... Casey ("Security" man/Bryan's pal)
Cameo:
Holly Valance (Euro-pop singer/ "Kiss Kiss"-2002) ... Sheerah (U.S. pop star)
Additional cast (from IMDbPRO.com):
Nicolas Giraud ... Peter (Tourist spotter @
airport)Goran Kostic ... Gregor (Albanian translator)
Massad ... Sheik Raman (wins the "virgin")
Jalil Naciri ... Ali (bids for Sheik in slave auction)Fani Kolarova ... Parisian Prostitute (gets faux proposition from Bryan)Helena Soubeyrand ... Girl with Kim's Jacket
MOVIE website
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soundtrack info (from IMDbPRO.com)
Please note that songs listed here (and in the movie credits) cannot always be found on CD soundtracks. Please check CD track details for confirmation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-Opening - composed by Nathaniel Mechaly**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-"Change" - Written by Joy Denalane (and Max Herre and Sekou A. Neblett and Lupe Fiasco and B. Krass and Curtis Mayfield) - Courtesy of Nesola GmbH and Four Music Productions GmbH and Sony BMG Music Entertainment GmbH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-Permission to Go to Paris**
4-To the Airport**
5-The Concert**
6-There's Somebody Here**
7-Pursuit at Roissy**
8-On the Rooftop**
9-96 Hours**
10-The Construction Site**
11-Pursuit at the Construction Site**
12-Saving Amanda**
13-Escape From St Clair**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14-Tick Tick, Boom - Performed by The Hives
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 Hotel Camelia**
16 The Auction**
17 Pursuit by the Seine**
18 On the Boat**
19 The Last Fight**
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20-"The Dragster Wave" - Performed by Ghinzu (end credits) / YouTube clip
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional tracks (movie only):
"xtc" and "inside my head" - Performed by pauline de saxe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I found him, he’s dead." -Bryan
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++