Liam Neeson stars in this action thriller about a man who searches for his daughter as he hunts down the people responsible for kidnapping her.

Bryan Mills (Neeson) lives alone, using what little he manages to see of his daughter, Kimberly (Maggie Grace), to stave off the depressive times. A former spy, Mills spends his days working as a hand for hire, which becomes apparent when a few of his friends and former colleagues turn up at his home for a get together. The group of friends are currently protecting a pop singer known as Sheerah (Holly Valance) and they want Mills to help with their security arrangements.

Mills meets Sheerah and the two get into a discussion where Mills tells Sheerah about his daughter’s musical ambition and asks if she has any advice. Her advice being to not bother as it is not quite as glamorous as the media would have everyone believe. The concert goes well, during which Mills receives a phone call from his daughter arranging for the two of them to have dinner together the next day, until a crazed fan attempts to harm Sheerah. The nutter is quickly dealt with by Mills who then bundles the shaken Sheerah into a car and comforts her as they make their getaway from the scene. As a small token of appreciation for saving her life, Sheerah gives Mills details on her voice coach and manager should her daughter wish to give performing a shot.

The next day Mills goes to meet Kim for dinner only for the mother, Lenora (Famke Janssen), to gatecrash the affair. It is then revealed that the meal was merely a pretense in order for Kim to get his permission to leave the country and visit Paris, France, in order to attend various famous attractions such as the Louvre with her friend. World weary from his former profession Mills initially refuses then changes his mind, but not before he gives her some advice as he takes her to the airport. At the airport Mills discovers a map in Kim’s possession showing more than just Paris as a planned stay, which Lenora reveals are where a certain popular musical band by the name of U2 are going to be having their tour concerts. Understandably annoyed by the deciet, Mills argues with Lenora about the trip but has the sword of Damocles waved over his head in the form of the chance at losing touch with his daughter should he pull the carpet from under her plans. Disgruntled, Mills relents and leaves Kim and her friend to get on the plane together and head for Paris.

Cue Paris where the two teenage girls meet a nice man by the name of Peter who offers to share a taxi with them, on the understanding that taxis from the airport are quite expensive. At the end of the taxi journey Peter offers an invite to a party taking place that evening. Kim, showing to be a chip off the old block, is suspicious of Peter’s friendly offer but is soon convinced to agree in to going by her friend. When the two unsuspecting ladies head into their apartment Peter walks away and calls someone on his phone, passing on information on where the two girls are staying. Meanwhile Mills, being the naturally worried parent, calls Lenora in order to complain about Kim not calling. Constantly ringing Kim, Mills manages to get through to her. Whilst on the phone, Kim sees two masked people taking her friend away. Mills then gets as much information from Kim as possible on where she is, what she had been doing and if she had seen or spoken to anyone on arriving in Paris, right up until the moment Kim is dragged away from her hiding place. Worried, yet calm and professional, Mills lays down the law to the kidnappers over the phone which sets the foundations for the entire film.

Taken is a fantastically made thriller of a film in which Neeson delivers high quality acting and partakes of some well choreographed action scenes. With a fantastic story written by Robert Mark Kamen, co-written with The Fifth Elementand Leon director, Luc Besson and a perfectly suited dramatic musical score by Nathaniel Mechaly, Taken is a film which deserves to be in any film collection.