Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition)

Great film - see the movie for its own sake
When I was a soldier stationed in Germany in the 1970s there was a raid on a Turkish-owned bar on the outskirts of Frankfurt A/M. German Polizei and US CID (US Army Criminal Investigation Division) broke up a white slavery ring that had been operating out of the bar for some time. The bar was a way-point in the transportation route of young European girls (preferably blonde) who had been kidnapped throughout Europe and were being smuggled to be sold in the harems and brothels of the Middle and Far East. The police found some twenty girls in the basement of the bar, some from as far away as Denmark and the Netherlands, waiting to be shipped further down the pipeline.

The German police and Interpol had been watching the bar for some time and were hoping to trace the route farther down the track to take down the ringleaders. The white slavers made the mistake of kidnapping the daughter of a US Army colonel whom they thought was a German national. The Colonel learned about the...

Besson you've done it again!
This is a review for the 2 disc version:
Taken blew me away. It's a tight, well written action flick. Luc Besson wrote and produced this and the character building of Bryan (Neeson) reminds me a lot of "The Cleaner" in Leon: The Professional, which was an earlier work of Besson's. The action reminds me of the Bourne series but more satisfying in a way than Bourne. The first 30 minutes is awkward. But a lot of what Besson writes is awkward, but charmingly awkward. The extended cut is the European cut. They decided the American audience couldn't handle some of the scenes. There is NO nudity in this film at all and none in the extended cut.

But what you get on the 2-disc version and not on the 1-disc is the following:
"The Making of 'Taken'" (18:22) - a featurette of the making of.
"Avant Premiere" (4:37) - video of the premier night in Paris
"Inside Action: Side by Side Comparisons" (11:05) - what it says
Plus, two tracks of commentary.
The...

Let God sort 'em out...
This is one of those great action movies where the hero isn't burdened by doubt, ineptitude, or guilt. He knows what he has to do and he does it coolly and ruthlessly! What he does is kill bad guys... Lots and lots of bad guys of all nationalities, races, and creeds who deserve what they get. Very efficient and ecumenical...

I lost count, but Liam Neeson must have killed about 50 bad guys in this one. And they keep on spawning so he has more to kill. I haven't seen one hero take on so many bad guys who keep on reproducing since Steven Segal made "Hard to Kill"...

The action is non-stop and the retribution is very satisfying. There is a lot of violence, but this is not an explicit blood and gore film. Just good old Hollywood movie violence that hits you at the gut level. "Taken" is a nice vicarious vigilante thrill for all the rest of us who must play by the rules. Liam Neeson does an excellent job! Highly recommended for action fans...

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