Taken Blu-ray Review

In Taken, former spy Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is reluctant to sign the approval slip for his estranged teenager daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), to travel with her friend to Paris. He is especially disappointed after he agrees, under pressure from his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), then discovers her plan is to travel across Europe. The movie is directed by Pierre Morel and was released on Blu-ray May 12th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Targeted by a deep-pocketed underground group of criminal masterminds, the girls are kidnapped from the place they are staying in Paris. Kim calls her dad on the phone when she sees the kidnappers break in. She stays on the phone till she is "Taken", helping to give him some key clues to follow.

Following his instincts and training, Bryan quickly hops on the next plane to Paris, where he begins to track clues and search for his daughter. His path is filled with challenging bad guys, lots of gun fights, risky maneuvers, and a father's resilience. Buried beneath several levels of corruption, Bryan finally gets a beat on tracking his daughter. Can he manipulate the final death-defying obstacles to save his daughter?

Taken is a suspenseful, action-packed drama. Liam Neeson is a perfect fit for his role as the ex-agent with aggressive convictions and physical skills to match. He is a modern-day, less exaggerated "Rambo". The story in Taken is intriguing and the movie is captivating. Its prominence might be a bit overstated by some, but it is definitely a movie worth watching.

Taken Blu-ray features include:

• Theatrical Version and Extended Cut of Film
• Extended Cut Audio Commentary by Director Pierre Morel, Cinematographer Michel Abramowicz and Car Stunt Supervisor Michel Julienne
• Extended Cut Audio Commentary by Co-Screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen
• Le Making-of Featurette
• Avant Premiere Featurette
• Inside Action Side-by-Side Scene Comparisons
• Black Ops Field Manual
• Digital Copy of Taken for Portable Media Players, Extended Cut Only

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• Actors: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries
• Directors: Pierre Morel
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, Spanish, French
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: May 12, 2009
• Run Time: 93 minutes

Blu-ray Review by Neil