Writer: Nur Safina Othman

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Watch this if you liked: "Bourne Identity", "Bond", "Trade"

If you thought "Taken" is just like any other typical action-thriller movie, you are going to be wrong. Enjoyable from beginning to end, it is no wonder this movie was No.1 in America when it opened back in January.

"I will find you and I will kill you" - with lines like this, it's not difficult to guess what kind of movie this is. We follow a Bryan Mills (Liam Nesson), an ex-government agent who receives a call from his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) as she is being kidnapped by Albanian sex-traffickers while on vacation in Paris. With all his intelligence training, weapon knowledge and fighting skills, he tracks down the abductors to find his beloved daughter and return to his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen).

Liam Nesson ("Love Actually", "Batman Begins") does a great job this movie. He plays the anti-hero, the kind of role that always works for him. Fighting for his daughter throughout this movie, anyone can feel for his character. As for Kim played by Maggie Grace ("The Fog", "Suburban Girl"), she is a little annoying in this movie - whiny, immature and at times even laughable.

All the action scenes in this film are well-staged and really exciting to watch. It never stops! The torture and fight scenes are well thought out. The movie has no outrageous divergences and it is easy to understand.

Directed by Pierre Morel, "Taken" is definitely one of the best action movies lately. Even those who are not fans of the action genre will not be offended, as it is very well made. If you are tired of complicated action movies that leave you scratching your head, you should probably watch this!

Cinema Online, 18 March 2009