{"id":17094,"date":"2015-02-22T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2015-02-22T07:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allouttabubblegum.com\/?p=17094"},"modified":"2015-02-22T00:01:57","modified_gmt":"2015-02-22T07:01:57","slug":"amb-taken-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allouttabubblegum.com\/new-home\/amb-taken-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"AMB: Taken (2008)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"taken-poster\"<\/p>\n

[THE CHALK-OUTLINE]<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Taken (2008): Breakdown by Kain424<\/span><\/h3>\n

A former government operative’s daughter is kidnapped.\u00a0 Now he must tear through the underworld of France to get her back.<\/p>\n

[THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THEIR BADASSITUDE]<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

THE GOOD GUY:<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Bryan<\/a><\/p>\n

Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Mills is about equal parts fantasy and fear.\u00a0 Besson clearly wrote him to be capable of near superhuman levels of monstrous deeds, but he’s also that Ethan Edwards-kinda guy everyone secretly wants to have their back.\u00a0 He’s a tough-love sort, but it is love.\u00a0 And if you accept it, it’s a tender, caring kind of love.\u00a0 If you don’t, it’s overbearing and way overreaching.\u00a0 This might seem like a crazy task to give an actor, but Liam Neeson is more than willing to give this would-be DTV role all he can muster.\u00a0 And it absolutely pays dividends, because Neeson makes you believe this guy could actually exist.<\/p>\n

THE BAD GUYS:<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"da<\/a><\/p>\n

What really puts the whole question of whether or not this film might be somewhat racist is put to rest rather easily when you realize you can’t remember any of the bad guys.\u00a0 Oh? You remember “Marco from Tropoja”? Good for you… except you don’t.\u00a0 They all do the Spartacus song and dance during the big confrontation and identify themselves as all being “Marco from Tropoja.”\u00a0 There’s the French cop named Jean-Claude (no, not THAT Jean-Claude), but who else?\u00a0 I had to look up that rich white dude on IMDb to find out he was named Saint Claire.\u00a0 Nah, the villains of Taken<\/strong> are either slightly brown or completely undercooked.\u00a0 They simply are.<\/p>\n

[THE SEX AND VIOLENCE]<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

MURDER BY NUMBERS: [35]<\/span><\/h3>\n

For a mainstream film. Taken<\/strong> is definitely one of the more violent ones.\u00a0 What’s especially noticeable here is just how lethal Liam Neeson’s character is.\u00a0 Of the film’s 35 deaths, 32 are caused by the main man himself.<\/p>\n

[THE BEST OF THE REST]<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

EPIC MOMENT AND BEST LINE:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Look, Taken<\/strong> is film based solely around a gimmick.\u00a0 It’s a gimmick that works well, however.\u00a0 So well, in fact, the entire premise was sold in the trailers.\u00a0 Here is the scene in question, in case you’ve been living under a rock:<\/p>\n