“Taken” (2008)

Best thought of as a guilty pleasure, “Taken” is the kind of revenge fantasy hokum that could easily serve as a vehicle for the likes of Steven Seagal or Chuck Norris.  Casting Liam Neeson in the part of a retired intelligence operative (we never find out exactly what kind) whose worst fears are realised when his precious 17 year old brat is kidnapped on a European holiday, gives “Taken” a sense of class it doesn’t deserve.  If you can get past the cloying first twenty minutes and overlook the god awful epilogue, the action scenes really deliver.  Neeson is up to the challenge and while Famke Janssen might have a thankless part as his ex-wife she continues to age spectacularly.