ArtisticallyChill

Serena and I saw TAKEN last night at the AMC at Streets of Woodfield (formerly Loews). Our first mistake was seeing it at that theater instead of driving the extra few miles to the AMC South Barrington theater we normally go to. The only reason we went there was I had just picked up Serena from the mall and it was just a two minute drive from the mall to the theater. The atmosphere makes you wish there was a strict curfew of 9pm for teenagers 17 and under or that social beatings were acceptable if justified. The customer service at the concession stand was utterly piss poor as they only had two cashiers working when you can see more than two people behind the counter. We’re definitely not gonna make the mistake of going this theater next time!

TAKEN, if you have absolutely no clue, is about a retired covert-ops specialist who goes searching for his daughter after she has been kidnapped in Paris. Had Liam Neeson’s character been anyone else, like a plumber, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have gotten far and the movie would be terrible. However, since this is not the case, the movie is pretty good. There were a few things I didn’t like. Some of the scenes’ cinematography could’ve been better. There were some scenes were the camera following Liam or the action would shake. It didn’t make me sick, but it did feel out of place. The driving scenes were also a bit harder to follow. The action scenes were spread out nicely but you still feel like there should have been more. The story is pretty straightforward but I think it could have gone an extra 20-30 minutes longer in order to give the story and characters a bit more depth. In the end, I thought why not go back and save as many girls as you can or bring down the whole operation entirely?

Overall, the movie was a pretty solid action flick. The writing by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen was nicely done but could’ve been better. Liam Neeson proves once again that he’s a badass in any role, with or without a lightsaber. I’m sure when the dvd releases, there will be a director’s cut of the film that will hopefully provide a more meatier film to watch.

~ LoneWolf