Luc Besson

Liam Neeson Elevates Above-Average Action Movie ‘Taken’

BrianTT — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:25:39 -0700

CHICAGO – Bringing the same screen presence and gravity that he has to more serious roles like those in “Schindler’s List” and “Kinsey,” Liam Neeson turns the relatively generic “Taken” into an above-average action movie that should prove a surprising alternative for movie goers looking for a break from Super Bowl coverage this weekend.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The great Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a retired “preventer,” essentially Jack Bauer ten or fifteen years down the road. He’s put his violent days behind him but not forgotten the skills that made him one of the most efficient experts in his very specialized field. In the opening act of “Taken,” Mills is hanging out with friends and taking odd jobs like providing back-stage security for the latest pop starlet.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Taken” in our reviews section.

Bryan has grown a bit distant from his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), but he’s working on getting back into the life of his only child. Kim decides to travel to Europe to follow U2 with her best friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) and Bryan reluctantly allows her to go.

Before they’re even out of the airport, Kim and Amanda are spotted by accomplices of some of the most evil people in the world, spotters for an Albanian sex ring. Kim and her friend are kidnapped, but not before Kim gets her father on the phone. He hears just enough detail that he knows he can travel to Europe and save his daughter’s life. And kill anyone who gets in his way.

‘Taken’ stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Katie Cassidy, and Jon Gries. It was written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen and directed by Pierre Morel. It opens on January 30th, 2009, and is rated PG-13.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Taken” review.

In Taken, Liam Neeson stars as Bryan Mills, an ex-government operative who has less than four days to find his kidnapped daughter - who has been taken on her first day of vacation in Paris.
Photo credit: Stephanie Branchu/Fox

Slideshow: 8-Image Gallery For ‘Taken’ With Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace

BrianTT — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:56:53 -0700

CHICAGO – This 8-image slideshow contains a selection of official press images from Twentieth Century Fox’s “Taken,” which opens stateside on Friday, January 30th, 2009.

“Taken” stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Katie Cassidy, Holly Valance, and Famke Janssen. The film was written by Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Besson and directed by Pierre Morel. It opens on Jan. 30, 2009.

Synopsis: “I don’t know you who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you’re looking for a ransom, I can tell you, I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills acquired over a very long career in the shadows, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you. And I will kill you.”

With these chilling words to a member of a band of kidnappers, former government operative Bryan Mills begins the longest 96-hours of his life – and the hunt for the fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim.

Mills had only recently given up his government career as what he calls, a “preventer” – “I prevented bad things from happenings,” he says – to be near Kim, who lives with Bryan’s ex-wife Lenore and her new husband. To make ends meet, Bryan joins some former colleagues for special security details (like guarding a pop diva), but most of his time and energy are spent re-connecting with Kim.

Bryan’s familial goal is nearly derailed when Kim requests his permission to spend time in Paris with a friend. All too aware of the dangers that could lie ahead for Kim in a foreign land, Bryan says no, but Kim’s disappointment leads him to very reluctantly relent.

Bryan’s worst fears are realized when Kim and her friend Amanda are suddenly abducted – in broad daylight – from the Paris apartment at which they’ve just arrived. Moments before Kim is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone Bryan, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Paris’s underworld, and to the City of Light’s plushest mansions. He will face nightmares worse than anything he experienced in black ops – and let nothing and no one stop him from saving his daughter.

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to Stephanie Branchu/Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox unless otherwise noted.

Taken_01: In Taken, Liam Neeson stars as Bryan Mills, an ex-government operative who has less than four days to find his kidnapped daughter - who has been taken on her first day of vacation in Paris.
Taken_02: Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) engages in a fire fight with the vicious gang that has kidnapped his daughter in Paris.
Taken_03: Only moments away from being taken by a vicious band of kidnappers, Kim (Maggie Grace) makes an urgent phone call to her father.
Taken_04: Bryan (Liam Neeson) visits a streetwalker (Fani Kolarova) as he attempts to infiltrate a vicious gang that has kidnapped his daughter.
Taken_05: Bryan (Liam Neeson) prepares to take extreme measures during his interrogation of a man he suspects of being a key player in the kidnapping.
Taken_06: In Paris, Bryan (Liam Neeson) looks to a former ally, Jean Claude (Olivier Rabourdin), for help in finding those responsible for the kidnapping.
Taken_07: Ex-spouses Bryan (Liam Neeson) and Lenore (Famke Janssen) do not see eye-to-eye on matters concerning their daughter. Photo by Sam Urdank
Taken_08: Bryan (Liam Neeson, right) presents his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) with a birthday gift, as his ex-wife and her mother Lenore (Famke Janssen) looks on. Photo by Sam Urdank

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Slideshow: 13-Image Gallery For ‘Transporter 3’ With Jason Statham

BrianTT — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0700

CHICAGO – This 13-image slideshow contains official press images for “Transporter 3,” which stars Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, and Natalya Rudakova from director Olivier Megaton. The film opens on Nov. 26, 2008.

“Transporter 3” features the return of Statham’s Frank Martin, a driver for hire. Frank finds himself pressured into transporting Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Frank has to deal with deadly Russians, the evil Americans behind the plot, and the general resistance of his kidnapped passenger. The film opens on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008.

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. Unless otherwise noted on an individual photo, all photo credits for this slideshow belong to Magali Bragard.

transporter3_1: Jason Statham stars as Frank Martin in Transporter 3.
transporter3_2: Frank Martin (Jason Statham) and Johnson (Robert Knepper) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_3: A scene from Transporter 3, starring Jason Statham as Frank Martin.
transporter3_4: Frank Martin (Jason Statham) and Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_5: Tarconi (Francois Berleand, right) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_6: Jason Statham stars as Frank Martin in Transporter 3.
transporter3_7: A scene from Transporter 3, starring Jason Statham as Frank Martin.
transporter3_8: Frank Martin (Jason Statham) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_9: Valentina (Natalya Rudakova) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_10: Johnson (Robert Knepper) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_11: Frank Martin (Jason Statham) in Transporter 3.
transporter3_12: Director Olivier Megaton on the set of Transporter 3.
transporter3_poster: Theatrical Key Art.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com