With both a Presidents Day holiday and a rainy day to enjoy, I decided to go see "Taken," currently in theaters. It was a very rapid hour and a half.
In the "24"/Jack Bauer tradition, there's Liam Neeson as your basic quick-thinking, highly skilled, brutally efficient government operative with the classic worrisome teenaged daughter, combined with a ticking clock. As this interview describes Neeson's character, he's "part Terminator, part Jason Bourne."
But then, who wouldn't be if their daughter had been kidnapped by sex slave traders?
"Taken" starts out with deceptive slowness, flipping suddenly into adrenaline mode while Dad is checking on his delinquent daughter via cell phone. He listens in agony to her screams as she is spirited away by Evil International Villains (EIVs). He immediately sets out to rescue his little girl. And, of course, he is intent on applying all of his considerably impressive career expertise to killing as many EIVs as his 96-hour window will allow. By film's end, the EIV body count would put the last act of a Shakespearean tragedy to shame.
There's one scene where a particularly unfortunate EIV is being tortured systematically by our determined dad. Father manages to procure the necessary information in short order. As he's leaving, he must make a fast decision--from the abduction scene onward, everything in this movie is fast--about whether to let said EIV live or die. (Spoiler alert: fans of "24" can use their imaginations as to how Jack Bauer might handle the situation.)
If you let yourself get "Taken" along for this thrill ride through the worst parental nightmare, you will most likely be highly entertained. Just brace yourself for the post-movie Knotted Neck Syndrome (KNS).
