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Review: Taken

The stink of producer/co-screenwriter Luc Besson permeates like Roquefort
By BRETT MICHEL  |  January 27, 2009  |  SHOWTIMES + MORE
1.5 1.5 Stars


VIDEO: The trailer for Taken

Pierre Morel's talents as an action cinematographer served him well when he directed District B13 (2004). But here the stink of producer/co-screenwriter Luc Besson permeates his film like Roquefort.

Like the cheese, Morel's latest will have its admirers (those with a nose for fast-paced action), but it's another pungent release from Besson's EuropaCorp (responsible for the Transporter series) that biliously plays into America's perceived prejudice toward all things French, Arab, and . . . Albanian?

Liam Neeson (whose gravitas exists in a different orbit from the weightless script) is Bourne again as Bryan Mills, a retired (and oddly Irish-accented) American spook with no qualms about killing anyone who gets in the way of his finding his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), who's been kidnapped within minutes of setting foot in Paris. Goodbye City of Love; hello to, in Besson's purview, Sex-Trafficking Central.

Movie: Taken:
Movie type: Action/Adventure
MPAA rating: PG-13
Released: January 30, 2009
Run time: 93 min
Directed By: Pierre Morel
Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Katie Cassidy, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Olivier Rabourdin, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Holly Valance
Related: Banlieue 13 / District B13, Boo-ya!, Rare treats, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Liam Neeson, Luc Besson, Maggie Grace,  More more >
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    The stink of producer/co-screenwriter Luc Besson permeates like Roquefort
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