Taken [Blu-ray]

A former spy relies on his special skills and killer instinct as he hunts down the men who kidnapped his daughter in Taken, an adrenaline fueled drama available on Blu-ray Disc (BD) and two-disc extended cut DVD with digital copy May 12 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Academy Award®-nominee* Liam Neeson (Schindler's List) stars as Brian Mills, a former secret agent trained in hand to hand combat who struggles as a divorcee and father of 17-year old Kim (Maggie Grace, "Lost"). Living with Brian's ex-wife Lenore (Famke Jansson, X-Men: The Last Stand), Kim rarely gets the chance to see her father, but when she does he is often smothering and overbearing. When the opportunity arises to travel to Europe with her best friend, Kim convinces her dad to let her go on the trip by leaving out some very important details. The first stop for the girls is Paris, but hours after they arrive they are victims of a disturbing break-in and abducted by an Albanian criminal organization. Now, with only 96 hours to find his daughter before she will disappear forever, time is running out and Brian Mills must put his CIA expertise to the test before its too late.

Taken starts out establishing Liam Neeson's character right away. We are shown that he doesn't have much money and lives a very modest and humble life. He and his wife are divorced and they have a 17 year old daughter. His ex-wife remarried into money and their daughter lives with her mom and stepfather. Liam Neeson gave up his career of being a former CIA operative to be closer to his daughter. Liam Neeson is truly the only likeable character in this story. After establishing his character and learning how genuine he is we learn about the plot to the story. His daughter wants to go to Europe with her friend and Neeson feels they are too young and after some persuading from his daughter and ex-wife he agrees. Neeson learns that the story told to him about their travel plans wasn't as he was led to believe. As soon as the two girls get to the apartment in Europe they are abducted and the cat and mouse chase unfolds. As his daughter is being taken he ells her to leave her cell phone on and describe everything that is going on and what the men look like. When one of the men learns of the phone, Neeson make him an offer to let them go. He tells them that he has a certain set of skills for situations like this and when the men refuse his offer he tells them "I will find you, I will kill you!"

This is where the action leads us into a world of slavery and prostitution. The story line is straightforward and I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical of Liam Neeson being an action hero. Usually there are other names that come to mind for a story like this but, Neeson delivers a very genuine quality to the character and you never question his capabilities. The story also relies on dialogue and more hand to hand fighting rather than over the top explosions and effects. Taken really is a dark horse and was much better than I anticipated. The Blu-ray disk in full1080p has a reference quality picture with strong definition with vibrant colors and a tonal quality in low light situations that are quite visible. There is a natural grain quality that sets the tone of the movie. The DTS-HD Master Audio has a strong dynamic range with that has the center channel delivering the dialogue with perfect pitch and distinguishes itself from the surround speakers. The separation of speakers really immerses you into the action and has you feeling like you are completely wrapped in the audio. This is one of the best Bu-ray audio and video home theater demonstrations available.

Two-Disc Extended Cut Blu-ray Disc Specs:

The Taken Extended Cut Blu-ray Disc (BD) is presented in widescreen format (2.40:01) with English 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound and Spanish/French Dolby Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features include:

Disc One

• Extended Cut seamlessly branched with Audio commentary with Director Pierre Morel, Writer Mark Kamen, and Cinematographers Michael Abramowicz and Michael Julienne
• Exclusive Le "Making Of" featurette
• Inside Action: Side by Side Comparisons of:
  • Peter Dies
  • Bryan Escapes Construction Site
  • Good Luck
  • The Interrogation
  • Bryan at Saint Clair's
  • Boat Fight
• Black OPS Field Manual
• Avant Premiere

Disc Two

• Digital Copy File of  Taken for Portable Players

I was pleasantly surprised with how good this movie turned out to be. I can't spread the word enough that this is a must see movie especially in the Blu-ray format. You will be captivated from the opening scene and really feel a bond for Liam Neeson's character long after the credits roll. Do yourself a favor and pick up Taken. You will be glad to have it in your collection.