John McClane on steroids, isn't he? I've never seen any of the 'Taken' films until this one the other day, but I'm usually late to the party for most of these action flicks. I don't pretend in the least to think anything I saw in the film even remotely resembles something that could actually happen, so best thing is to leave your thinking cap behind and enjoy the ride. The one scene I really thought was credibly done was when Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is speaking to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) while she's hiding under the bed in the Paris residence. He tells her that she's going to be taken captive, bam!, just like that. No sugar coated 'Everything will be alright' because he knew it wouldn't be. It's about there though that all credibility ends, as Mills takes off on a whirlwind chase to hunt down the thugs who kidnapped his daughter.

The thing that really gets me following any of these types of films is how no one even bothers to worry about the aftermath of all the mayhem. Car wrecks, hotel rooms smashed, dead bodies all over the place. For a guy like Mills, (and John McClane),it's all in a day's work once the objective is achieved. And yet, for any of these films that lead to a successful franchise, the same bad luck befalls the action hero in a mind numbing disregard for the laws of probability. Ah well, sometimes it can be fun to get "Taken".

Since the entire plot of this film is given away in the masterfully delivered trailer, it's not divulging anything to say that Taken is a modern-day revenge thriller. This presents an interesting experiment, actually. Considering that there aren't really any surprises to be found in Taken, beyond those we were offered in the pre-release snippet, are splendidly realized action sequences enough to carry this film? The answer here is a resounding "yes". Taken may be a simple film, but it's not simplistic, and even though the first third of it is spent recapping what we knew going in, the second and third acts here deliver enough thrills and action to make this film riveting, even if we know exactly where it's going.

By setting the chase within the ultra-sleazy world of human trafficking, which we secretly hope is just a media creation, but know deep inside that this reprehensible and inhumane phenomenon is a reality, the film is propelled by a sense of urgency that isn't present in most revenge films. Liam Neeson's daughter isn't "Dead", she's "Taken", so his race against the ticking stopwatch tracking her probable fate provides enough tension to diffuse any disappointment in knowing exactly what's going to happen here.

The selling point here is how deftly Liam Neeson hacks his way through a bevy of Albanian baddies. Neeson is untested as an action star, but watching him maneuver his way through the sea of detritus here, we're left hoping that he's got a franchise in him.

The film may not have the intricacies of the expertly crafted Bourne films (although, like every action film made since Bourne appeared on the screen, the fight scenes here owe an obviously rich debt to Matt Damon's antics),but the gritty and realistic path Neeson carves to get to his stolen daughter is sufficient to deliver the promise implied by the fantastic trailer.

You don't have to be a parent to understand and sympathize with Liam's plight here, and there is a morbid but exhilarating sense of release in seeing the evil empire pay for its transgressions. Sometimes morally complex, ambiguous studies of man's desire for revenge are too preachy to be entertaining. Taken doesn't really care if you like Liam Neeson or wonder if he's doing the right thing by flagrantly taking the law into his own hands; the film just wants you to strap yourself in and enjoy the tidings as he hands out beat-downs all over Paris.

This film doesn't want you to think. Like Neeson's character quickly realizes, thinking is often not a luxury present in dire circumstances like these. Action is what counts, and for those who miss the era of the lean, mean 85-minute skull-crack fest, Taken will re-conjure the giddy thrills of watching Dudikoff, Seagal, and Van-Damme chomp through a slew of B-Movie terrorists. Having an Oscar-caliber actor delivering the judo chops only sweetens the pot.

Forget about Oscars, plot points, or coherence. This dude's daughter has been kidnapped, and he's a former government agent trained to make bad guys' lives a living hell. Do you want to see him find his daughter and take down the scum who took her? Of course you do. Even reading this review is over-analyzing it.

Stripped of all complexity this major Box Office Hit is nothing more than a great way to release some pent up frustration about some despicable things that continue to go on with impunity around the World. For those who maintain that it is Xenophobic and Racist, well it has to be set somewhere and the Villains have to be somebody.

So pick one. It really doesn't matter. There is no argument that America is also filled with such Evil and nastiness that it might have taken place in the good olé US of A. These things matter little in these Comic-Book Movies. Nothing seems plausible or realistic, hence Comic-Book Category, but it is so much fun watching the really Bad Guys get a really good comeuppance.

There is some very mediocre Acting (just about everyone except Liam) and the Movie never lets up enough to make anyone think about what is happening, and it shouldn't. This is for the tired of it all People who are sick of the apathy and talk and just want some good old fashioned Payback. Justice...Revenge...Karma.

So forget deep Sociological analysis, or anything that makes any intellectual sense. This is here to continue the thing that makes great Fiction. Viva the Fictional Vigilante.