Taken (2008)

 A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.

Director: Pierre Morel
Writers: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen | See full cast and crew » 
 

Storyline

 Seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father Bryan Mills. Bryan is a retired agent who left the Central Intelligence Agency to be near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart. Kim manages to convince her reluctant father to allow her to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When the girls arrive in Paris they share a cab with a stranger named Peter, and Amanda lets it slip that they are alone in Paris. Using this information an Albanian gang of human traffickers kidnaps the girls. Kim barely has time to call her father and give him information. Her father gets to speak briefly to one of the kidnappers and he promises to kill the kidnappers if they do not let his daughter go free. The kidnapper wishes him "good luck," so Bryan Mills travels to Paris to search for his daughter and her friend.

"Taken (2008)" Movie Reviews

Yes, its only an action movie; Yes, the script has more holes than the victims of the main character! Yes, Neeson's rampage in Paris is very implausible; Yes, its not Oscar material... no great acting.

Still... its a very good movie. I gave it a solid 8. I left the movie feel very satisfied... its that kind of movie that is fun and thrilling and brainless at the same time. Doesn't get tiresome. When its outrageous its funny... when the action gets going you feel right in it all.

When you finish seeing the movie you do wonder why Bond and Bourne aren't as macho or mean. Niam's character Bryan("B" letter too) beats up baddies way better and he looks more scary and real somehow than those other pansy agents.