Taken (2009) * * *

Directed by:  Pierre Morel

Starring:  Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Gerard Watkins

Liam Neeson has managed to take the "particular set of skills" he mentions in Taken's most famous scene and used them to propel himself into one of the most ubiquitous action heroes of the last decade.    At least once a year, Neeson turns into a deadly assassin/vigilante/hitman before our very eyes in movies mostly less skillful than this one.   Taken spawned two inferior sequels and numerous copycats, many starring Neeson himself.    Taken is hardly believable when held up to scrutiny, but it is engaging while you watch it.    The villains are evil and Neeson dispenses with them in increasingly creative ways.    In one instance, he electrocutes a guy and leaves with the power still on, so the schlub will have thousands of volts coursing through him in perpetuity.   By the time anyone knows what is happening, he will likely be a heap of ashes.

Bryan Mills (Neeson) isn't simply terrorizing bad guys for his health.    He is a retired CIA operative who has settled down in Los Angeles.    Divorced, but still friendly with his ex, he is increasingly aware of his teenage daughter Kim (Grace) growing up and wanting to do things on her own.   Like travel to Paris with her friends without a chaperone.   Kim lies to her dad about where they will be staying in Paris, which doesn't serve her well when thugs come calling wanting to kidnap her and sell her into sex slavery.   This leads to the pivotal scene in which Bryan talks to the kidnappers on the phone, warning them of his skills and what will happen to them if they don't leave his daughter alone.   They scoff at him, much to their detriment.   But, they can't say they weren't warned.

Within hours, Bryan is in Paris tracking down the kidnappers, which he is able to do with surprising efficiency and ease.    Maybe a little too easy, but the movie paces itself like it has a schedule to keep.   The time frame of 72 hours is thrown about, which suggests if Bryan doesn't find Kim within that time she will be lost forever to the sex slave world, I guess.    No matter.   Bryan dispenses with the kidnappers and anyone even remotely related to the crime.   Bodies are littered all over Paris, and Bryan manages to avoid capture rather easily.   This must be one of his special skills he brags about so much.

Yes, Taken is silly, but Neeson brings conviction to it and raises the stakes.    The bad guys are simply horrible, and they get what they deserve as Bryan cuts them down one by one with relentless brutality.   This isn't a spoiler, since Taken 2 and Taken 3 came later, but those sequels turned into unintentionally hilarious action films which made their predecessor seem sensible by comparison.