'Taken' review

Liam Neeson takes aim in "Taken." (Credit: FOX)

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Ex-spy Bryan (a badass Liam Neeson) is very protective of his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and not so keen on the idea of her bopping around Europe to follow U2 on tour. Before you can say Bono, Kim’s snatched in Paris and sold into the sex trade, so it’s up to Dad to hightail it overseas and whip some Albanian kidnapper booty ASAP.

The buzz: Chances are U2 ticket sales will survive any fear instilled by “Taken.” The bigger risk is this thriller from director Pierre Morel (“District B13”) sliding either into far-fetched ridiculousness or just the methodical dullness of 2007’s quickly forgotten Kevin Kline-against-the-underground-sex-business drama, “Trade.”

The verdict: Credibility isn’t the goal of “Taken.” As an action-packed B-movie not meant to be taken seriously, it’s the fun kind of stupid, inviting you to acknowledge its outrageousness and just enjoy. That said, despite Neeson’s clever tactics he succeeds a bit too easily and stomps out the tension, like pitting one guy against 100 is a lopsided fight in favor of the lone middle-aged dad. Except, that’s sort of the whole idea: He’s a father on a mission. He just happens to have the skills of Jason Bourne.

Did you know? When Kim expresses concern about meeting up with a suspicious guy they barely know, her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) says, “What is there to know? He’s hot!” You just can’t argue with that logic.

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