Taken

Released by: Fox
Released on: 5/12/2009
Director: Pierre Morel
Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Jenson, Leland Orser, Maggie Grace, Katie Cassidy, Holly Valance
Year: 2008
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The Movie:

While Taken might not be the most original action film to ever hit the screens (it kind of reminds you of Paul Schrader's Hardcore without the smut movie angle) it's definitely a hard hitting and efficient picture that, if nothing else, will keep you glued to the edge of your seat.

The film stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a man who has quit the CIA job that cost him his marriage to his ex-wife (Famke Jenson) so that he can attempt to rebuild his relationship with the daughter they had together, Kim (Maggie Grace). After her birthday party, where her insanely rich stepfather (Leland Orser) gives her a horse, Kim decides that she and her friend Amanda are going to go to Paris for a few weeks to stay at a cousin's house. Bryan's signature is required to secure his daughter's travel documents and his initial hesitation eventually subsides and he soon watches his daughter and her best friend board a plane.

After arriving in Paris and meeting up with a seemingly harmless young man, Kim and Amanda make their way to the fancy apartment they'll be staying in. Kim talks to her father on the cell phone that he gave her and, as they converse, she watches some unknown assailants come into the other room and abduct Amanda. Kim knows she's next and Dad gives her some basic instructions to follow in hopes that he'll be able to hop on a plane, hunt down the kidnappers, and rescue her - which is pretty much exactly what he tries to do. He has Kim's stepfather pull some strings and before you know it he's landed in Paris and is on the warpath, bound and determined to do whatever it is that he needs to do to get his daughter back in one piece.

Moving at a breakneck speed, Taken is an incredibly satisfying action movie thanks to a clever set up that manages to make us completely sympathetic to Bryan's plight. He may not have the money or the prestige that Kim's stepfather can give her but his heart is definitely in the right place and he obviously cares about his daughter more than any other person in his life. When she's taken, his old training and instincts kick in and we can't help but root for the guy as he busts his way through the French underworld shooting thugs and breaking bones. Some of the more intensely violent scenes are completely cold blooded but again, it's in keeping with his mission and his unrelenting quest to bring Kim back.

A huge part of what makes the movie work, aside from the pacing, direction and wholly despicable villains, is Neeson's fantastic performance. He shows some fantastic range here, excelling playing the sensitive and caring father while remaining completely believable and at times frighteningly cold when it comes time to take down the bad guys. Famke Jenson and Maggie Grace are also quite good in their supporting roles but this is definitely Neeson's show and he really makes the most of it.

Co-written and produced by Luc Besson, Taken is one of those rare breed of action films that is smart, intense and truly exciting. Yes, you have to suspend your disbelief here a few times but the story is close enough to being grounded in reality that you won't have any problems there. Director Pierre Morel keeps things going at a fantastic speed and delivers exactly what action movie fans want out of a film like this and does so with plenty of style. Worth noting is that this Blu-ray disc includes both the 91 minute theatrical cut and the slightly longer 93 minute unrated version of the film. The unrated cut contains some slightly grislier and stronger violence that was removed from the film in order to secure a PG-13 theatrical release.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The 1080p 2.35.1 AVC encoded transfer on this Blu-ray release is very nice indeed. Detail level is exceptional in pretty much every scene with the darker nighttime and indoor scenes exhibiting strong shadow detail and more lighter daytime and interior shots showing off even more texture and subtle nuances in the picture. Black levels are deep and strong without ever breaking up while skin tones look very lifelike. Color reproduction is dead on, though keep in mind that this film leans towards darker imagery so you won't get that candy-coated 'pop' that some HD transfers offer. There are no noticeable problems with edge enhancement or mpeg compression and really, Fox has done a great job here, leaving nothing to really complain about.

Taken arrives on Blu-ray with an ass kicking English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track with optional subtitles available in English SDH and Spanish. Dubbed tracks are provided in Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound but unless you're dealing with a language barrier, the DTS-HD track is really the way to go. This is a very aggressive track that comes at you from all across the soundstage delivering crisp and concise channel separation and plenty of interesting, subtle background activity. Bass response is fantastic, with each gunshot really packing a punch, while dialogue stays clean, clear and audible even during the more action intense moments which make up the later half of the film. The score resonates nicely across the mix, adding some welcome emotional depth to the sweeter scenes in the film while making the action scenes all the more intense. There are no problems at all with hiss or distortion and the levels are all properly balanced resulting in one of the finest surround experiences possible. This movie sounds perfect.

Extra s kick off with the first of two commentary tracks that play over top of the unrated version of the movie which features director Pierre Morel, his cinematographer Michael Abramowicz, and Michel Julienne. This French language track, which includes English subtitles, spends a great deal of time focusing on the look of the film, how various shots were set up and why, the reasoning behind choosing certain locations, and things like that. It's a fairly technical discussion but an interesting one never the less as it also does a good job of exploring some of the storyline's structure and how the visuals relate to it all. The second commentary features writer Mark Karmen who co-wrote the film with Luc Besson. Karmen, speaking in English, talks about how he came on board to work on this project, what he and Besson were going for, why certain actors were chosen for the roles, and about the writing process. Between the two tracks, they cover a lot of ground and explore pretty much every facet of the film.

From there we move on to a very cool picture in picture track that accompanies the unrated version of the movie entitled The Black Ops Field Manual. When enabled, this scene specific track counts up the bodies as Neeson makes his way to his daughter, tracks his progress through some nifty mapping, and delivers some interesting trivia about the science behind some of the methodology we see his character use in the film.

Up next is an eight minute Making Of (SD)featurette that mixes up the typical cast and crew talking head/sound bit clips with some decent behind the scenes footage. This doesn't delve too deep into the picture but it is interesting to hear from some of the cast about their work here. Five minutes worth of footage from the Film Premiere (HD) also includes some brief cast and crew interview clips while the Inside Action: Side By Side (HD) featurette delivers eleven minutes of footage that nicely contrasts fly on the wall making of footage from some of the more memorable action set pieces with the obviously more polished footage that we see in the final version of the film.

Rounding out the extras are an HD trailer for Notorious, some classy animated menus, chapter selection and, on a second disc, a digital copy of the film.

The Final Word:

As fast paced and tense as they come, Taken is a lean, efficient and thoroughly engrossing thriller that doesn't reinvent the wheel but which definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat. Fox's Blu-ray release looks great, sounds even better, and features a decent selection of extra features. This is one that is definitely well worth checking out.