TAKEN

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Taken is an action-thriller movie made in the year 2008, starring Liam neeson as a bereft father (Bryan Mills), who quits his job as a CIA agent, just to be with his daughter. But, unfortunately for him, his wife breaks up with him and moves out of his life, taking along what he loves the most, his daughter.

One day, when Bryan is having lunch with his daughter (Kim -starred by Maggie grace), which they occasionally do, her mom (Lenore-starred by Famke Janssen) arrives there and tries to persuade Bryan into signing up a parental consent form to allow Kim to go to Paris, with her friend, Amanda. At first, Bryan hesitates much, stating that a 17 year old should not travel far, without proper company. But, he later accepts on three conditions.

• To call him immediately when she lands at Paris.

• To give him the address and phone number of the place she’s gonna stay at.

• To call him every night and to inform if she’s gonna move anywhere.

When they arrive at Paris, they meet a young man named Peter, with whom they share taxi. Later, when they arrive at their apartment, he gets their apartment number to pick them up, and offers them a party, along with his friends. Though Kim is reluctant, Amanda who’s already smitten by his charms gives their apartment number at which they stay in. But, Peter happens to be a part of an Albanian mafia who prey on young female tourists, addict them to narcotics and they forcefully indulge them in prostitution.

Meanwhile, Bryan calls in make sure that Kim is safe. While talking from bathroom, Kim witnesses the mafia guys ambushing them. Panicked, she tells her dad about this, who informs her that soon enough she’ll be taken too. He asks her to feed him whatever information she could on the men. He asks her whether they met anyone in the airport and Kim informs of Peter. Then, she gets abducted as well and yells out the detail of a man, who sees the phone and listens to Bryan say,

“I don't know who you are.

I don't know what you want.

If you are looking for a ransom,

I can tell you, I don't have money.

But what I do have

are a very particular set of skills.

Skills I've acquired

over a very long career.

Skills that make me a nightmare

for people like you.

If you let my daughter go now,

that'll be the end of it.

I will not look for you.

I will not pursue you.

But if you don't, I will look for you.

I will find you...

...and I will kill you.”

But, all Bryan gets after this threat of his is a raspy “Good luck” from the man before he smashes the phone. With the help of his friends, he comes to know about the mafia and its leader. His friend informs him that a rescue is only possible within 96 hours of the abduction, because later than that they’ll move her somewhere else and it would never be possible to find her again.

Bryan soon arrives at Paris and he starts his “hunt” and tracks down Peter, who dies being hit down by a bus, while trying to escape Bryan. He then seeks the help of his old CIA friend, Jean Claude, and comes to know of a location where they run brothel. After a vain search, Bryan is still unable to find his daughter, but gets a lead on the location of the mafia.

Meanwhile, his friend tries to send him home , stating that the government is not ready to bear up with an Ex-CIA agent who’s running amok. But, that does not stop him. For, he does not want justice, he wants his daughter back unharmed and vengeance on the abductors.

Making use of the visiting card given by his friend, he establishes himself as his friend Jean Claude and enters the Mafia hideout. He kills Nearly the entire gang, finds Amanda dead due to over-injection of narcotics, tortures the mafia leader and finds out that, being a virgin, Kim was sold to the highest bidder, Patrice st. Claire.

“Was he able to track down Patrice? Did his friend help him? What was the real reason for which Bryan was to be sent home? Was he able to track down his daughter? What happened to her?”To know the answers, get hold of a DVD, or better go to the theatre.

Liam as an EX-CIA agent is really savvy and believable. The plot is so good and the ideas that adorn the movie are really intelligent.

• When Kim tells him she’s being abducted, he instructs her on what has to be done and gets the information on the abductors and records everything down.

• When he goes to the apartment, he finds the smashed phone and he takes out memory card from it, from which he finds out Peter.

• He keeps on listening to the voice of the mafia leader in the recorder and finds him out in the mafia hideout by passing down a statement written in Albanian, wishing “good luck” and asks them to translate it into English.

• But, before attacking, he surveys around the room, trying to figure out the number of persons and the best place to start the attack.

The movie is fast paced, pulse quickening, enthralling, logical and realistic. The plot is so good. The worst thing that would happen to this kind of a movie is that, after sometime you’ll never give a damn about what happens to the prey. But, this movie never falters in rising up the tension of what happened to Kim, all the time.

And need I say about Liam? He is the pillar who supports the heavy plot. Though he occupies nearly the whole movie, we never get tired of seeing this guy, let it be in action, planning or in chasing.

A very promising movie for action lovers. This is a must watch kind of a movie, which should not be
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