Simple Man Entertainment

The better half and I were trying to decide what to do yesterday to get out of the house and spend a little time hanging out together without the kids so we decided to go to the movies. Once we decided on the movies we had to decide what to watch, and we narrowed it down to two films, the two movies were “Gran Torino” with Clint Eastwood, or “Taken” with Liam Neeson. Once we took start and end times into consideration we chose “Taken”.

Like everybody else that goes to the movies now-a-days when we got there we got our tickets, overpriced soft drinks, and popcorn and headed into our assigned theater. When we first got in there they had all of the usual trailers and ads on the screen but no sound. I had to go find the right guy just to get the sound turned on. When I finally got back to me seat we sat down and along with the four other people in the whole theater settled in because the show was starting.

Neesons character is retired CIA operative Bryan Mills who has chosen to stick close to his daughter Kim played by Maggie Grace after divorcing his wife Lenore played by Famke Janssen. The plot really gets started when his daughter invites him to lunch in order to get him to sign a release so that she may accompany her best friend Amanda played by Katie Cassidy to France in order to visit her friends cousins. The real truth is that they are going to follow the rock band U2 on their European tour, although he doesn’t become aware of that plan until just before they board the plane.

After some consideration Neesons character allows her to go with a few conditions and off she goes to The City of Lights Paris. Once there, Kim and Amanda meet a charming Frenchman named Peter, who convinces them to share a cab at the airport. After dropping off the girls at their destination he calls his boss to tell him about the girls, and you immediately know that they are going to be kidnapped.

The kidnapping takes place as Kim is on the phone with Bryan/Neeson telling him they have arrived. When the find her under a bed the kidnapper Marco speaks briefly with Neeson and the hunt begins. Bryan Mills speaks with his contacts and finds about the group after giving them a recording of the conversation that he made finding out that they are from Eastern Europe. Of course then Neeson/Bryan is off to Paris as well.

Once in Paris he speaks with a former French operative he once knew who gives him a little more info but in the end winds up being involved. Once he finds the apartment where the kidnapping takes place and gathers his evidence there, he locates peter who manages to escape only to be hit by a truck and killed.

By then the damage to the criminal organization his done and Neesons pursuit of his daughter and the people responsible becomes an action packed thrill ride almost right up till the end of the movie. The action sequences are awesome and the plot line and the twists in it are excellently written and performed by the actors. If you are an action/thriller junkie you will definitely get your fix with this movie.

I was not disappointed with choosing this one over “Gran Torino” I guess Clint will have to wait till next time. I hope you all enjoyed this post and enjoy the trailer as well. Have a wonderful day, CIAO4NOW!!!!!