Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Kim. After reluctantly agreeing with his ex-wife to let Kim go to Paris on vacation with a friend, his worst nightmare comes true. While on the phone with his daughter shortly after she arrives in Paris, she and her friend are abducted by a gang of human traffickers. Working against the clock, Bryan relies on his extensive training and skills to track down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launch a one-man war to rescue his daughter.
It's fun for about 15 minutes seeing Neeson do James Bond as Daddy Dangerous. But the surprise wears off quickly.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
3 Feb 2011
rotten:
You've just kidnapped the wrong teenager, Mister Foreign Slave Trader Man.
– Richard Roeper,
Richard Roeper.com,
7 Feb 2009
rotten:
Taken is the kind of exploitative junk everyone expects from no-talent French hack Luc Besson.
– Rex Reed,
New York Observer,
4 Feb 2009
rotten:
[Neeson's] performance is the most perturbing thing in the film, even more so than its electrical-torture sequence or its revelations about sex-trafficking.
– Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
2 Feb 2009
fresh:
It's the big, dolorous Neeson who makes the movie a keeper.