  
Takena.k.a. “Búsqueda implacable,” “Busca Implacável,” “96 Hours,” “96 saat,” “96 sati,” “Io vi troverò,” “Venganza”MPAA Rating:
 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.Reviewed by: Ethan Samuel Rodgers Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Adults, Teens
Genre:
Action, Thriller
Length:
1 hr. 34 min.
Year of Release:
2009
USA Release:
January 30, 2009
DVD: May 12, 2009  
Relevant Issues
“His daughter was taken. He has 96 hours to get her back.” Note to Director Pierre Morel: the edge of my seat is thoroughly worn out. Intense does not begin to describe the 90 minutes I just spent with Mr. Liam Neeson. Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a retired operative for the United States government. Divorced and single, his emotion revolves around the well being of his daughter, Kimmie (Maggie Grace), who, although she has love for her paternal father, has gotten caught up in the rich lifestyle given to her by her stepfather and maternal mother. When Kimmie is given the opportunity to travel to Paris with a friend she quickly becomes enthralled with the idea of being in France, in the real world, on her own. Hesitantly, Mills allows his 17 year old daughter to travel far from his net of security. Quickly, the two girls’ naiveté is exploited, and they are taken advantage of and kidnapped, leaving everyone who called Mills “overcautious” and “uncaring” with him as their only hope to return Kimmie back. With his daughter’s life in the hands of the Albanian Human Trafficking trade, Mills claims vengeance in the bone shivering line “I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what you want, but I must let you know, I have a unique set of skills which I have acquired over many years, skills that make me a nightmare for men like you. If you let her go, it will be over, I won’t chase you, I won’t look for you. But if you do not, I will look for you, and I will find you… and I will kill you.” This is not a run of the mill action film, however. When you enter the theater you expect to see outstanding martial arts scenes, car chases, explosions, gun fights, and Liam Neeson generally showing off how much of a man he still is. What really caught my attention was the heart in this film. The attention to “let’s make sure before we send Liam Neeson on a killing spree the audience cares about his daughter and more importantly, him.” The emotional power was there, not like you would expect from an Oscar winning drama, but it’s there, and it’s enough to make you cringe when you think of what Neeson is up against and what will happen to Kimmie should he fail. And what may be the best part of the film considering its genre is the fact that I bought it. Yes, it’s incredibly unlikely that an ex-military operative would go on a killing spree weeding out corruption in Paris, France to find the only love in his life, but you know what, it’s still possible. There wasn’t one moment where I found myself saying “oh come on” or “you’ve got to be kidding.” On the contrary, I constantly caught myself thinking “that could happen” or even “if it were my daughter or wife I would absolutely do that to save her.” Of course, you will get all the action and intensity you can handle. The moment Kimmie gets kidnapped is like the moment you enter a long tunnel. You hold your breath as you go in, knowing what you’re getting into, and you don’t let it out or breathe easily until it’s over. Surprisingly, violence, language and sexual references are all kept in check. Save a few “s**ts” and “a**holes” there’s virtually no language, which was a welcomed surprise. The sex was also greatly kept in check. Considering this film deals with the graphic and intense subject of human trafficking and prostitution there was very little sexual content. Obviously there were girls shown in prostitution houses, but no skin or nudity to speak of; nor was anyone shown “in the act” as they say, and there was only one (yes, one) sexual joke early on in the film. The only concern parents may have is the intense scenes of violence. There are multiple scenes of Neeson killing men in many different ways (one is hit by a truck, another he tortures with electricity; another man drives his car into the front of a bulldozer, etc). None of it, however, is gratuitous or unnecessary. There’s very little blood or gore, mostly scenes of Neeson using hand to hand combat to take out opponents. For what it’s worth, this might be my favorite action film this Oscar® year. It’s difficult to find a film that involves explosions, gun fire and high octane stunts that remembers we need to care about the characters we’re watching, and, on top of it all, keeps it generally within the realm of possibility. But I really do believe “Taken” has accomplished that feat. It also accomplished the feat of scaring me out of ever letting my wife or children ever stray from my sight in Europe. Whether that’s a good thing to take away is yet to be seen, but as Bryan Mills taught me, you can’t be too cautious. Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: Minor See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Comments below:
Positive
Positive - The film Taken, along with its no-compromise hero, is a breath of fresh air in a day when politicians are so concerned about the “rights” of evil men (example: Guantanamo Bay prisoners), that they are endangering the lives of innocent people in the process of giving these men their so-called rights. Positive - This is not a fun film, in any sense of the word. But it is very much a good film. After reading the review, I decided to go see this movie. It is a cold dose of reality that a lot of parents and teens need. Positive - Liam Neeson returns to his role as the dispassionate “League of Shadows” bigwig Henri DuCard in this Chev Chelios meets Jason Bourne action palooza. All the frenzy and indestructibility of the former. All the glam and international brouhaha of the latter. Well, not exactly Ducard, just figuratively speaking. In “Taken,” Neeson's character is the bad man his former and indirectly aforementioned protege Bruce Wayne should have always been: unabashedly ruthless to a fault. Yep. Ol' Bruce never veers off the deep end. Never has. He devotedly takes the moral high ground to an all time high. And while “The Dark Knight” did show the world just how unconventional Batsy can be when extorting/punishing the criminal underworld, at Wayne's core is a heart of gold; he follows the rules. Henri Ducard breaks the rules. Positive - I disagree with there being no nudity mentioned. The review, in general, was great, but there was a nude view from the back during the sex slave auction, and this content seems only appropriate for the discerning viewer. The message was good, but is portrayed in a way that is not appropriate for high school or younger. The lack of dress can be very suggestive for the male viewer. Positive - Wow, truly an “edge of your seat” type of movie for me. Just a bit of information for everyone; at the beginning of the movie, Liam Neeson and has friends were talking about being in Langley which is where the CIA has it's headquarters. So even though they don't specify, he was probably a CIA agent. Positive - To all the positive comments displayed here, I can only agree. The moral rating is “average,” only because the VERY positive aspects must be balanced against the dark, dark tone and subject matter, some disturbing images of enslaved young women, and the fact that the protagonist went clearly too far once, and possibly too far another time, in pursuit of saving his daughter. Having said that, it was wonderful to see a movie in which the father was the unabashed good guy who rescues his daughter, the Americans were the only good guys in the movie, and the bad guys were French, Albanian, and Muslim. Finally, a little counterbalance to the endless America-bashing! Positive - Best movie I've seen in a long time—and equal comments from my seventeen year old son and 45 yr. old brother who were with me—in fact I know that my wife and daughter would love this movie also (they're planning on seeing it today). Positive - I forgot I was in a movie theater 10 minuets in. Trust me, it grabs you and doesn't let go. Very, very entertaining. One capital thing to know before going to see this movie is that it is about sex trafficing. Without going into detail the producers of this movie have done an excellent job at showing how relevent this sick, sad and true problem exists. I would recomend this film to pretty much everyone who is living in this world… for saftey reasons. Being told my mom and dad to be careful is not enough. It needs to be seen because this is significantly relevent in today's society. The producers/ directors have definately toned the true graphic nature of sex trafficing, down from a ten to about a two or one. It can sometimes be hard to see, but the eye opening benefits it has is tremendous. Adults can talk to their teenagers and teenagers will be able to talk to their parents in a sufficent manner about the dangers surrounding sex today, hopefully and thankfully from this movie. Positive - For the very first time ever on this site, I think the positive reviewers are not taking the content in this film seriously enough. Let me reiterate what has already been said: It's. About. Human. Trafficking. And yet many of the Christians on this page are not concerned about this. What they ARE concerned about is: 'How much actual nudity and sex does it show?' Positive - This is an all-too-true movie highlighting a very serious issue called sex trafficking. For those who chose to condemn the movie because of content I ask the question: knowing the content of the film, why did you watch it in the first place? Americans are insulated and naive when it comes to this type of activity, and I applaud any movie that brings this horrible issue into the public eye. No, it is not a pleasant movie, but its issues we should all be concerned about as Christians. Considering the subject matter, this was really a very tame movie in the sense that it took the high road and showed very little gratuitous sex or nudity. It got the point across without having to resort to a more real and true-to-life depiction. I applaud the film makers for creating such an excellent movie that involves such a deplorable subject matter. A must see for all adults. Positive - Many times life is not a cute “G” or “PG” story. Sometimes you have to face the ugly truth. Irish actor, Liam Neeson, has done humankind a great service for being a part of this movie. Christians can not afford to be judgemental about the language and violence of this movie. Its a must see. In fact, every home, should have a copy of this movie. It's about a very real and threatening problem on a global scale. Its time that Americans become aware of the problem. Positive - I would like to point out that many of the negative comments are very misleading and extremely exaggerated. “Taken” is a thrill ride in the vein of “Mission Impossible: III” or “Live Free or Die Hard.” However, unlike these films, it is not political. It combines elements of suspense with action that would make James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Jack Bauer jealous. Many of the negative comments stem from the violence in the movie, and while it is intense, it is not graphic. The only “graphic” and disturbing scene is when Bryan Mills tortures a prisoner with electricity to get information about his daughter's kidnapping and then kills him. Most of the other killings are done in self-defense or to defend others. Yes, there is language, but it is very minor and not excessive. As for the whore house scenes, there is no nudity that is shown, but most of the girls are drugged and scantily dressed. Positive - I thought that this movie was very well played out. I believe it to be a must see for all teenage girls. I come from a small town where girls tend to think that this could never happen just because they aren't familiar with it. It does happen, and young girls need to know. I found the way the girl left the phone going with her father and when she was taken, started yelling out descriptions of her takers very smart. It is a good mother/daughter movie. Just because you live somewhere small doesn't mean it can't happen. A good movie to have protection talks. There are kidnappers and rapers all over the world. This movie teaches young women how important it is to remain safe, and when giving parental freedom, to use it wise. I think this movie is a must see. Negative
Negative - I saw the movie with my twin 13 year old boys. They are huge fans of Liam Neeson from Star Wars fame, so they were very interested in seeing this movie. Negative - If you are planning to see this movie, and you have a Christian worldview, then you should be aware of the following things I did not see in any other reviews. Although there is no complete nudity, there are several series of scenes where the father is looking for his daugther in whore houses and goes through room after room of young girls in compromising situations and clothing is scarce. At one point you see young girls dressed in barely-there undergarments being auctioned off to the highest bidder. This is not a mild glance at sexual slave trafficing/trading. It goes deep into the act and motives of this kind of prostitution. The violence is steady and severe, and the language is throughout. I would not under any circumstances take a teenager to see this film. Negative - I have to agree with the other reviewer. This is a very graphic movie about slavery and prostitution. That is the whole premise of the movie. It is extremely graphic and you don't just dabble in it. Our family's spirit was very uneasy watching it as long as we could hoping the movie would just get on with it. Many many people were killed, overdoses, rooms filled with girls drugged up, clothes barely covering themselves, laying on beds waiting for the next man (who by the way were all waiting outside in lines). It was heart wrenching. We finally turned it off. We only watched it because of the positive reviews it had on this site. I am extremely disappointed that some said it is ok to watch. Whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think of these things. Negative - Takes the Lord's name in vain (the highly offensive G-D variety). That should be enough not to see any movie regardless of the noble issues and movie making quality. Negative - At first, I thought this movie was amazing—great acting, little language, lots of suspense. But then scenes are shown with girls wearing nothing but strings… not much more than naked. If you are looking to guard your mind, stay away from this movie. Comments from young people
Positive - This is an well-made intense movie. Liam plays his part well, the plot is good, the action is well made, and the entire film is very exciting. The ending two scenes of the film were a touch off, not quite perfect, but still pretty good. Go see it in theaters, you'll walk away impressed. And, of course, don't bring little kids. Positive - I really liked this movie, not because I went away with a fuzzy warm happy feeling. I liked it because it presensted a truth Americans turn a blind eye to. (Relatively mildly) I think every teenage girl should see this movie. And the father's love did remind me of our Father's love! Three quarters of the movie was him literally fighting his way to get to her—because he loved her! Positive - This movie was excellent. Liam Neeson did an amazing job. But what made this movie fantastic is the fact that Bryan the main character is an older man in his 50's. This movie doesn't use too much language few uses of s--t are used and the villains calling him an a--, and they use God's name in vain a few times. It's amazing what he goes through to save his daughter from prostitution, just like what God goes through to save us from sin. Positive - Wow! This was an incredible movie! It totally gives me a different mindset on everyday insidents in everyday life. There wasn't one part that you would think, “Wow. No one would ever do that.” It was great! Negative - At one point in this film, a villain tells Bryan Mills “You can’t get you’re daughter back just by tearing up Paris.” Negative - My brother was very interested in seeing “Taken,” so we rented it a few days ago. It represents an interesting conundrum for me in that it's a movie I simultaneously liked and disliked. It was generally an interesting, if illogical, movie, and I really felt for the struggle of Liam Neeson's character to get his daughter back. There's this suggestion that his daughter is all he has left, and he'd do anything to be with her. And for about the first hour or so, the movie was quite good. |
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