March 6, 2013

When Daddy Knows Best

By Arnold Cusmariu
Produced by Luc Besson and directed by Pierre Morel, Taken (2008) is the story of retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) whose daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped in France by Albanian human traffickers intent on selling her to an Arab sheik. A one-man wrecking crew, Bryan is relentless in his search for Kim and shows no mercy in extracting information from the criminals who know her whereabouts. He rescues Kim just in time and brings her home safely. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie grossed $226,830,568 worldwide against a production budget of $25 million. The impressive return on investment led to a 2012 sequel also produced by Besson but directed by Olivier Megaton, which earned $374,275,836 worldwide. Evidently popular with filmgoers, Taken predictably took a hit from liberal reviewers. Here's Manhola Dargis [T]his digitally dreary-looking movie gleefully trades on the specter of American vigilante justice. ... Swarthy Europeans and Arabs may still be...(Read Full Article)