Taken

[Rob]

If "Taken" proves anything it is that Liam Neeson can do anything. I'll tell you right up front, I really enjoy movies with rightous rage and this is a great one. Reminds me of "Man on Fire" with Denzel. The biggest difference being that "Taken" is completely preposterious. The thing is, I didn't care.

In "Man on Fire" Washington's character nearly died several times and the calculated moves he made were deliberate and somewhat plausible. Not so for "Taken." You really have to shut off your brain on this one.

Luc Besson happens to be one of my movie making "heroes." "The Fifth Element" and "The Professional" are two of my favorite action flicks.

Taken has none of the style of "The Fifth Element" and none of the deep character developement of "The Professional." What it does have is action, action and more action. Liam Neeson is a badass ex-CIA agent, Maggie Grace is his kidnapped daughter "Kim." She's been sold into the sex trade where virgins are worth top dollar and Neeson's "Bryan" has just 96 hours to kind her, half way around the world before some greasy old Arab pops her cherry. Calamity ensues.

I'm usually pretty critical of Deus ex machina used in.... well anything. But I have to give this one a pass. Neeson was just too much of a badass.

If you can't shut your brain off I guarantee you will hate this movie. But if you have ever dreamed of having a daughter, who gets kidnapped, and then tearing apart Paris, kicking the crap out of a bunch of Frenchmen and killing a bunch of Armenians and Arabs to get her back; you will love it.

Seriously though, if you can shut your brain off it really is a fun ride. If you like deep characters and great plot development you should probably avoid it like the plague.

[Rob]

FYI this just came out on DVD about a week ago and it was just as much fun to watch the second time around.  ;)

[jstofko]

Saw this flick some time ago...  It really IS a great movie... but "suspension of belief" is a must.
Favorite line:  I will find you. And, I will kill you. 
That just proves that you should always take the hero at his word!

Here's one that may have slipped under your radar... Mark Wahlberg in The Shooter.

[Rob]

I actually just saw Shooter from my Netflix account last week. I enjoyed it tremedously. It wasn't as good as Taken but it was pretty great and the same kind of movie. I thought Danny Glover was kind of miscast as the bad guy (against type) though. Even when he was being a dick I wanted to laugh at him and tell everyone that Sgt. Murtagh was acting wacky.