Film: Taken

Every so often, a film comes along that, for no particular reason, just clicks with you. You don't want to turn it off. If you rented it, you want to buy it. If you bought it, you wish you paid more.

Taken is just such a film.

Two minutes in, I knew Liam Neeson was the man for the job. I don't know why; maybe it was how he had a repore with the Indian retailer, or how he creases out every edge of the present he buys his daughter. This is a man who has his priorities. He has friends, he has mannerisms, but he is precise.

Watch the movie. Just... just watch it, okay? I'm not trying ot sell you the movie. Nobody is paying me to do this (yet), nobody has any vested interest in my endorsement (yet). This is one guy, who enjoys the hell out of a movie, telling someone - a complete stranger - that this is a defining film.

Done? Okay.

Freakin' awesome, eh?!

Why do we see three seconds of this man creasing corners on a present, or a retailer making a seemingly off-handed comment about him examining a product numerous times? He is efficient. It is a deliberate hint, only two minutes in, that this man knows what he is doing.

Goddamn, it's about time a film gave us characters who were developed enough that the remaining hour in the film makes sense. He is a nice enough character to be on a first-name basis with a rockstar; he keeps promises to his daughter, as his CIA colleagues inform us through anecdote; he pays attention to detail, as I mentioned; he can fight, as his defence of Holly Vallance displays.

There is nothing in this film that is displayed that we don't already have a hint of, to the point that we sometimes can second-guess the film itself. I think that's a sign of a good movie. You can throw a twist, but it might not make a lick of sense. Just because I'm fooled does not make the twist necessarily good. The scene where Liam Neeson uses a walkie-talkie, linked to a mobile phone? I've used walkie-talkies in security gigs; I know what they look like. I knew what he was doing. It was clever. I've seen a lot of movies in my time, and none have done that twist that I have noticed. I applaude them for doing it; I applaude myself for seeing it coming. I feel smart seeing it pan out. I like the movie a little bit more for making me feel clever, yet still throwing a few odd curveballs at me.

When Peter tries to pick up Ingrid, the Swede, it becomes intense. You've seen these men in action. You know what they can do. In sweeps freakin' Liam Neeson, kickin' ass and takin' names. He owns Peter. He owns Peter's partner. He chases down Peter in a car and gets the dude smashed by a truck.

At this point, I was content to turn the film off. I was satisfied beyond belief. This is a man who does not get pushed around. He kicks ass. Yes, it's one of the most concrete cliches in film history - and at no point did I care. I wanted to keep checks, to see relevent points in the film, so I kept it on pause. I started re-watching it, picking key moments. Before I knew it, I was watching irrelevent points in the film. So enraptured, I was drawn in time and again.

My sister only rented this movie? I'm going out next chance I get and buying it. Hell, I will pirate it and just give Liam Neeson my $30!

Once he freed the enslaved girl, something clicked. "My God," I thought. "This just a French re-telling of Tom Clancy's Without Remorse!" And then, I thought, "Wait, who gives a shit?"

According to Wiki, a few critics are comparing it to 24. I can see something of a resemblance. It's vaguely there. How anyone missed the references to Without Remorse, hell knows, but they're there and they're plentiful.

This film, I think more than any I've see in a while, had me smiling. Here is an immoral, evil bunch of bastards, if ever there were any. They have no respect for human life, or women, and they are pricks to any and all.

When you see a guy, established as a nice person, such as Liam Neeson, kicking their ass, then it makes it all the more satisfying. I smiled constantly. This film had me smiling.

If you like to see bad guys getting owned, like they deserve, this is your film. It is the ending of Casino Royale, stretched over an entire film, multipled by 100 and set on fire.

It's win.