Liam Neeson is on the trail of his daughter's kidnappers.
Gary Thompson: Want to be 'Taken' for a very non-PC ride? This is your week
IF YOU'RE politically correct, now's a good time to leave the room.
Coast clear?
OK. There's a pretty good action movie on DVD this week called "Taken," starring Liam Neeson as a former CIA wet worker whose daughter is abducted by a prostitution ring while in Paris.
The movie had an effective exploitation-movie trailer - Neeson on the phone with his terrified daughter while she's pulled from under a bed by the kidnappers.
It had a nice opening weekend, but it also had real staying power, eventually running up an impressive $140 million.
Fans loved "Taken" as a well-made old-school action flick - by "District B13" director Pierre Morel, whose skill at mounting fight scenes and maintaining a breakneck (pardon the pun) pace are on full display.
It's hard to surprise or shock today's action audience, but whoa, watch out for that dinner table scene. Some would say watch out also for the mustache-twirling foreign villains. The movie makes no claim to subtlety.
The two-disc DVD retails for $29.99, includes original and extended cut, plus commentary for Borel, producer Luc Besson, and writer Robert Kamen. *
