20th Century Fox | 2008 | 93 mins | Unrated
How far would you go to save a loved one? What would you do? Who would you be willing to kill? Asking these questions, Taken opened in Europe before its American release; Parisian crowds were ecstatic about the brutal vision of director Pierre Morel and writer Luc Besson. However, Americans didn’t get to see the same version of the film when it hit these shores. Instead, what we saw was a cut, watered down version that got an PG-13-Rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. Perhaps as a result of that, critical and audience reception was little better than lukewarm. The Blu-ray release of Taken rectifies that by giving viewers the opportunity to view the theatrical cut, or the extended, unrated cut which is the one Europeans saw and contains more violence.
The tagline perfectly sums up the plot of the film: “I don’t know who you are but if you don’t let my daughter go, I will find you, I will kill you.” Liam Neeson stars as Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA operative who gave up his career to care for his seventeen-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) Against his better judgment, Mills allows Maggie to travel to Paris with her best friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). Shortly after arriving, the two are captured by human traffickers and set to be sold into sexual slavery. With only 96 hours to find the girls, Bryan sets off on a quest with the help of his ex-wife (and Kim’s mother) Lenore (Famke Janssen) to bring Kim to safety. It’s made clear, that he will do whatever it takes, no matter the cost to make that happen.
Taken doesn’t try to be a deep character study. Everything is pretty black-and-white with no shades of gray; the good guy is good, the bad guys are bad and violence is justified because the words and promises of ineffectual law enforcement mean nothing. The issue of sexual slavery is interesting one but it’s not explored here; it’s used as the trigger for Bryan and Lenore’s mission. The mission is well crafted enough, that it’s hard not to become invested in it and enjoy the non-stop action.
There’s no denying that Taken is Liam Neeson’s film. His towering, 6′ 4″ presence is commanding. We know he is ex-CIA, so his threats carry weight, and his execution quickly obliterates any doubts. He is a mean dude, so any threats he makes are bound to be taken seriously. Like all good vigilante flicks, he does a great job of kicking the butts of the bad guys and assorted low-life’s that get in his way. Little time is spent fleshing out the villains beyond plot details, while Grace and Janssen have little to do in one-dimensional roles. It’s only Neeson, and his commitment to such a single-minded character, that makes Taken worth watching.
In all honesty, the film, as presented here in a two-minute longer, unrated cut, is pretty mean-spirited in its violence. The theatrical as it is, is pushing the boundaries of the PG-13 rating. I was somewhat troubled by the violence, as I was with Pulp Fiction but given the story that’s being told in Taken, it is the unrated cut that works best. Just be aware that violence plays a major role in the story. Purely as a thriller, Taken works very well; just don’t expect a lot of character development.
20th Century Fox brings Taken to Blu-ray with a gorgeous 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. The transfer offers a film-like appearance, with strong, lifelike colors, tremendous depth,and extraordinary levels of natural detail. Exterior daytime shots look great and the darker sequences shine as well. Blacks are inky and deep with no discernible loss of detail in corners and shadows. As for the detail, this transfer reveals just about everything there is to see. From the basics — lines in faces and the textures in pavement and stone-laden walkways — to the more mundane, like wrinkles in shirts, the transfer offers a continuous string of top-quality levels of detail. Flesh tones appear a bit rosy through most of the film and colors, while strong, appear overly warm but never to an excessive degree. All in all, Taken is another solid Blu-ray transfer from Fox.
The disc is complimented by another reference-grade DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack from Fox. Taken features audio that consistently emanates from every corner of the listening area and with a crispness and clarity that matches the very best Blu-ray currently has to offer. Not only does information pour from every speaker, but it sounds lifelike throughout. An early segment at a pop concert reveals strong bass. The track also creates a fine blend of realistic ambience in many scenes. A restaurant scene in chapter four reveals an array of small nuances scattered about the soundstage that creates a pleasing, sonically inviting environment. Parts of the score take on a hard-rock feel, each of these devastating the primary front speakers, the sound aggressively spilling out with clarity and deep, chest-rattling bass. Gunshots also ring out with hard-hitting power, sounding clear and distinct one from the other, while explosions positively rock the listening area. Taken also delivers pitch-perfect dialogue reproduction.
Taken does include a few special features:
• Audio Commentaries – We get two here: the first with director Pierre Morel and cinematographers Michel Abramowicz and Michel Julienn, and a second track with screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. The group chat is in French only with English subtitles, so admittedly it’s harder to get a feel for it. It also comes off as dry by default, as intonation often gets lost. That said, I sampled about half of the track and it’s informative, mostly about technical matters. The screenwriter track helps fill in the blanks regarding the story, subject matter and casting, particularly Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace, whose chemistry was crucial for the story to work, as well as the use of explicit violence to tell the tale.
• Featurette: “Le Making Of” (HD, 18 minutes) – Your standard making-of. We get interviews with Morel, Kamen, stars Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace, and other crew.
• Featurette: “Avant Premiere” (HD, 5 minutes) – Not really a featurette, this is just 5 minutes of premiere footage.
• Storyboard-to-Screen: “Inside Taken” (HD) – Six comparisons of key action scenes. The storyboard is on the left, the final film on the right.
• Digital Copy (SD) – Included on a second standard DVD disc is a Digital Copy of the film (theatrical version), compatible with PCs and iTunes.
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