Rio Grande Herald Critic:
Gerald Salinas

If you ever thought CIA agents were a bunch of suits who don't clean up the trash, and lived a safe career behind the desk, you are sadly mistaken. According to the movies of course.

Taken is a fast pace, smart action thriller that takes you to the dirty reality of human trafficking. Not that the movie focuses on the human trafficking, but it does on everything else and does it very well.

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) a some-what retired CIA agent who likes cook-outs, hanging out with old partners/friends, and moved closer to home to spend more time with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Kim now lives with ex wife Lenny or should I say Lenore (Famke Janssen) and Father in law who's name I can't recall cause I don't remember hearing it (Xander Berkeley). Bryan and Kim don't have a poor relationship, as the movie show her happy to see her father Bryan on her 17 year old birthday party.

Bryan has seen action in the past, his skills briefly demonstrated while protecting a young pop star as a masked man tried to stab her. Bryan knowing how to protect himself and others is against sending his 17 year old daughter to Paris alone with her friend Amanda. He then later agrees to send her.

After a only a few hours in Paris Kim and Amanda are kidnapped in the movie's most intense trailer pick-up scene. Bryan being an expert in many fields knows exactly what to do but being overseas is unable to do anything.

"I don't know who you are, I will find you and I will kill you" yes better believe it as Bryan has 96 hours to find and save his daughter before they auction her off and treat her like a prostitute and eventually never seeing her again. Bryan goes overseas and becomes a one man army. Using his skills that he developed over a long career he is able to track down each man responsible and causing a lot of pain on the way.

The movie is a bit too much. It's clear they weren't aiming for best picture. But the movie was handled well, just think of it as the bourne movies just 40 years old. The thing that makes this movie work is Liam Neeson. Neeson is one of the great actors working today. With this quick to react, highly intelligent character he proves he can dominant any role given to him, focusing in on his fatherly figure to his "I'm gonna get you" with fist flying anger scenes. A remarkable actor he truly is.

Taken won't blow out numbers in the box office but will give you a ride to remember. Take this movie for what it is and I'm sure just like, I did.