TAKEN - Blu-ray review

Sometimes you just need a fun action film to sit back, relax and enjoy. French action master Luc Besson serves as writer and producer for "Taken" and Pierre Morel steps in as direction. Starring Liam Neeson, "Taken" is a fast paced and engaging film that may be light on the script, but far from short on heroic moments. Morel had previously served as cinematographer on the action filled films "Danny the Dog," "The Transporter" and War." His previous directing effort was the French film "Banlieue 13." Producer Besson is best known for his breakthrough films "Nikita" and "Leon: The Professional," but has been responsible for other classic titles such as "The Fifth Element," "The Transporter" and a host of others. The physically imposing Neeson is one of the finest actors alive today. He has worked across a host of genres and has been best received in his dramatic performances, but Neeson is no stranger to action films after starring in "Darkman," "The Phantom Menace" and "Batman Begins."

"Taken" is about retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Neeson), who is not living the high life while trying to become a respectable father for his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). He works gigs as concert security, but lives a very simple life and can hardly afford to buy his daughter a birthday present. He is divorced from his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), who has married a very wealthy man. They day after Kim's birthday party she and her mother meet Bryan for lunch, where they ask him to sign a paper so that she can travel to France with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). Bryan is reluctant to let Kim go to a foreign country by herself and at first refuses to sign the paper. This infuriates Kim and shows the divide between Bryan and his family. However, the next day he shows up at their house with the paper signed to give permission to Kim to travel abroad, but has conditions attached to his signature.

Upon arriving in Paris, Amanda and Kim meet a young man who shares a taxi with them. Amanda lets the man know they are staying alone in the hotel and they are then invited to a party. The man quickly passes on the information that the two girls are alone to an unknown person. Kim has already angered her father when Bryan learns they are not staying in one place and are actually following Irish rock band U2 around Europe, but she angers him further by not sticking to the first condition she agreed to; she does not call him upon landing in Paris. Eventually, Kim does call her father on the phone, but during this time she watches Amanda being attacked through the window and realizes that she is in danger as her rented apartment has been broken into and she is in grave danger. Bryan talks her through the ordeal up until the point where she is ‘taken.' Bryan then talks to one of the kidnappers on the phone and alerts him that he is messing with the wrong father.

The story does not go into great detail and wastes no time in having Bryan utilize his special talents and friends to somehow find the identities of the Albanian men who kidnapped Kim. "Taken" doesn't care to make the hunt a very long one and it isn't long at all before Bryan is on the way to Paris to find those that have taken his daughter and unleash a deadly barrage of ass kicking that will eventually result in a death count of thirty three. He has to shoot his friend Jean-Claude's (Olivier Rabourdin) wife in the leg and become a marked target of the Parisian police force while trying to find the location of his daughter, but Bryan is clearly outmatching his foes and "Taken" doesn't waste any time in putting Bryan in deadly combat with a number of leads that will eventually lead him to the location of his daughter.

"Taken" is a fun film. It is exciting and if you try not to concern yourself with the little details, it is a thrilling ride. This isn't a movie that concerns itself with plot holes or divulging a lot of information. Within moments of a phone call, the protagonist is able to identify the antagonists. There is hardly any drama leading up to the violence and if you were hoping for a film more in line with the Jack Ryan series of pictures, then you will be sadly disappointed as it takes roughly a half an hour before "Taken" becomes a series of events to show just how badassed the 6'4" Liam Neeson can be. This is an unapologetic action film that has a high body count and some very nicely choreographed fight scenes. There were a few times when I would have liked just a little more exposition, but as soon as the fists and bullets started flying again, I quickly forgot the film's shortcomings.

"Taken" is essentially a one man show as Liam Neeson is on-screen much of the time and the supporting cast is not given a lot of screen time. Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen are the lead supporting actresses and they disappear for much of the film. Each spend a little time at the beginning half hour of the picture and the final minutes before the camera becomes firmly planted on Neeson. However, the very broad shoulders of the Irish actor have little problem bearing the load and you would be hard pressed to believe that the fifty-six year old actor is not capable of pulling off the deadly assault displayed in the film. Neeson is a very talented actor and is capable of portraying a very physically imposing presence and "Taken" would not have worked with an actor of lesser stature. This movie is all about showing that Neeson can be an effective action star and it succeeds easily in that goal. He is the star and he is the show.

Written by Luc Besson and veteran screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, "Taken" has a long lineage in the action genre. This is a very polished picture that does not pretend to be more than what it is. "Taken" is a balls-out action film that moves quickly and doesn't stop until the film's hero attains his goals. Besson knows his way around the genre and he has a way of adding depth and humanity to his leading actors and watching "Taken" can remind you in some ways of his early masterpiece "Leon: The Professional." The story uses the real-world problem of sexual slavery as a backdrop, but that isn't given any more attention than what is necessary to move the plot along. This is not a film to bring recognition to slave trading and while the focus is on a father who was disconnected with his daughter, "Taken" doesn't preach to the audience to be better parents. No, "Taken" concerns itself with being a thrill-a-minute action film and it succeeds handedly.

Video:

"Taken" is presented in its theatrical wide aspect ratio of 2.40:1 on Blu-ray with an AVC MPEG-4 mastering. The film looks very good in high definition and is of quality that is to be expected with a recent film. The level of detail is typically very good and coloring is quite brilliant. My only knock on the film is that the filmmakers didn't spend much time on the beautiful Parisian locations and the gritty underworld of the Albanian mafia doesn't lend itself to stunning sets. Colors were good and looked very natural in skin hues. The film possesses a strong high definition presence and is aided by good black levels and detail never dips in the darker moments. The print used to master the Blu-ray had zero flaws, which is to be expected. While I didn't feel that "Taken" leaped from the television screen as the absolute top Blu-ray transfers, I was very pleased with how the film looked.

Audio:

The sound design of "Taken" took every opportunity it could to allow the English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix to use the .1 LFE channel. This was an exemplary sounding mix that used all channels rather nicely and featured very good low bass presence as well as striking sounds in the upper ranges. Gunfire, car chases and the musical score all sounded very good and "Taken" was far more aggressive than I had anticipated. Movement between channels was very good as sounds cleanly moved from one channel to the next and all five main speakers were given something to do. The action scenes had sound coming from every direction. The score by Nathaniel Mechaly was another character at times in the film and helped to build tension and emphasize that when the musical tempo picked up, so did the action. Dialogue was perfectly clear. French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are also included as well as subtitles in Spanish and English SDH.

Extras:

"Taken" is billed as a "2-Disc Extended Cut" and when the primary platter boots up you are quickly reminded that it contains a Digital Copy of Taken for Portable Media Players. This is the extended cut of the film only and is contained on a second platter that is a DVD. Oddly, the commercial that plays never mentions this is available on Blu-ray as well. Marketing oversight I suppose. Trailers are included during initial startup for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the much better looking "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" film, and the new John Cena film "12 Rounds." I certainly hope this is better than the horrid "The Marine." After the promotional clips, you can select from either the Theatrical Version (1:30:55) of the film or the Unrated Version (1:33:25). The film's torture scene is far more brutal in the longer cut as well as some of the action scenes.

Watching the Unrated Version of the film provides access to the commentaries and one other supplement that is not viewable while watching the theatrical version. The first Commentary by Director Pierre Morel, Cinematographer Michel Abramowicz and Michel Julienne is unique as it is in French and requires the viewer to read subtitles. I can't recall having a subtitled commentary track at any point in the past, but it places the film into French as well while you listen to the commentary. It is informative and the Frenchmen have plenty to say, but I can only imagine those who really love the film to sit through a French commentary track. The second Commentary by Writer Robert Mark Kamen is in English and Kamen does a decent job in his solo effort. He has a lot of experience and shares his knowledge in this track. The Black Ops Field Manual is a BonusView feature that places fun facts about the film in pop up windows. This includes information on locations as well as details about how Bryan Mills kills his foes and why they die. The real-time kill count is fun!

A few smaller features are available through selecting either version of the film. Le Making Of (18:24) is your run-of-the-mill electronic press kit style documentary with talking heads interviews with Liam Neeson, Pierre Morel and others. The featurette moves between French and English language and is subtitled for French parts. There was some really nice making-of moments found in here. Avant Premiere (4:48) is a brief clip for the premiere of the film showing interviews with Neeson, Besson and Morel touting their picture. A few moments showing Neeson with his late wife Natasha Richardson are included in this vignette. The Inside Action: Side by Side Comparisons (11:05) shows six of the film's action sequences being made in comparison to the finished shot. I enjoyed these brief clips and especially appreciated the very brief comparison shots. There are also a trailer for "Notorious" under Trailers. Not sure why the plural form of ‘trailer' is used here.

Closing:

"Taken" won't be remembered for being anything more than a hard-nosed ass-kicking action film. It is a film that doesn't care to be anything more and is perfectly happy bringing the thrills and excitement with giving little attention to story and plot. "Taken" knows its role and it does well in sticking to it. Liam Neeson is very good as the action hero and while you will never be impressed with the writing or the lack of detail to the film, it is hard not to root for Bryan Mills as he tries to save his daughter. This movie is a lot of fun; just don't try to take it seriously. The Blu-ray possesses above average sight and sound and is a good release for the Blu-ray format. The Profile 1.1 BonusView decides to have a little fun and keeps a running body count, which shows how much fun the filmmakers had with this project. The rest of the supplements are decent. If you need a good action film for your Blu-ray player, then "Taken" might be a good call.