Taken (2008)

Taken is a 2008 English-language French action-thriller film directed by Pierre Morel from a screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It's the first installment of the Taken trilogy, starring Liam Neeson as ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills.

Plot
Bryan Mills, a former CIA operative and current bodyguard, sets himself to rescue his teenage daughter Kim and her best friend Amanda after the two young women are kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers while traveling in France during a vacation.

Why He Won't Find You, and He Won't Kill You

 * 1) The story is intriguing and connects with all viewers who would do anything to save their kids. The film can be seen like a realistic take of Finding Nemo for adults.
 * 2) Good acting, especially that of Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills.
 * 3) *The film's success and popularity helped to define Neeson's career as a big time star and action film star.
 * 4) Bryan Mills is a relatable character: he's willing to do whatever he desperately needs to save his daughter, even if it means torturing or threatening others, but even so, the audience can still sympathize with him, as any would do that for their loved ones if they were on Bryan's shoes.
 * 5) The fighting sequences are great.
 * 6) Many likeable characters, like Kim Mills and Sheerah.
 * 7) The climax is amazing.
 * 8) Pierre Morel shows good skills as a director.
 * 9) The film's pacing is perfect.
 * 10) "If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you. I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
 * 11) It provides a good moral for younger viewers: don't share personal things with an stranger, because you can't know if he's actually a person who wants to hurt you.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Some character like Jean-Claude are highly unlikable.
 * 2) The subplot with Jean-Claude feels somewhat pointless, as we never get to discover about his past with Bryan and doesn't intervene too much in the plot.
 * 3) Sheik Raman isn't an interesting character, given that he just appears at the end and is somewhat unconnected to the plot, just becoming part of it because he buys Kim.

Critical response
Critical reception to Taken was mainly mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 59%, based on 177 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Taken is undeniably fun with slick action, but is largely a brainless exercise". On Metacritic, it received a score of 51 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally average reviews". However, the film was much better received by audiences and action film fans, who praised Liam Neeson's performance as Bryan Mills and its story. Thanks to the audience's reception to the film, Taken was a turning point on Neeson's career, with many other action films starring Neeson following soon after.

Box office
The movie was a box office success, as it earned $145 million in North America and $81.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $226.8 million, against a production budget of $25 million.