Talkie Tuesday: Taken

"I will find you. And I will kill you."

Hello everyone!

I'm usually fairly okay with keeping up with movies - when I put my mind to it. And then one thing happens, or the other, and I end up forgetting ALL about the movies, which means they pile up behind me like some sort of downtown rush hour traffic jam. 

I'm not even joking.

I have probably a number going closer to ten movies that are just waiting, begging to be considered as the movie of the day, but I just can't get to them with the backlog I have going on!

Among these is the trilogy of Taken movies, although granted I was late on this whole Taken train bandwagon to begin with, because for some reason I just never found the time to sit down properly and watch them. Of course, then came the time of summer, beach vacations and loads of free time (with no internet), so they sort of ended up on the list.

Luckily, as they were certainly amusing.

The reason why I remembered this trilogy is actually fairly simple: I was surfing the interwebz a couple of days ago and checking out which TV shows got renewed and which cancelled, along with which would be newcomers in the next show season.

The title 'Taken' caught my eye.

Add in the fact that Clive Standen has signed up for the titular role of Bryan in his younger years, and you have me hooked (for those of you who don't know him, he rolls like Rollo on Vikings).

Knowing there was going to be a TV show about this made me go back through my notes and find the shorthand I wrote while watching the original movies. And it really was SHORT - a quote and five descriptive words, tops.

But they were action movies, so basically you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure them out.

In Taken, we first meet Bryan and his estranged ex-wife, along with his teenage daughter Kim; we learn that he was special ops and missed most of Kim's growing up but is trying to make up for it now, although also being an overbearing dad who won't let her go to Paris ... she goes anyway. Obviously, dad's warnings come true as she and her friend get abducted and sold, although Kim has the presence of mind to call her dad so that he has something to go on. Enter pissed-off dad who's combing through Paris to find the light of his life, and pretty much killing anyone who stands in his way.

Quote of the movie: "Try not to make a mess, Bryan!"

In Taken 2, after the events of the first movie, both Kim and her mother are a bit more world-wary, but now they're all clashing over boys (because, obviously). Bryan is away in Istanbul when his ex and Kim surprise him by visiting, although it turns into a disaster when family members of the people slain in the first movie (bad guys, obviously) want revenge, and kidnap the whole family ... or try to, as Kim escapes. She manages to coordinate with her father enough so that he manages to get fee, and then of course it's a run around Istanbul to get the guy who did this. Luckily though, the family return to the States relatively unharmed. 

Quote of the movie, by Kim: "Don't shoot this one, I really like him!"

In Taken 3, we've moved along with Kim to university now, but the movie actually starts with Bryan being accused by authorities of killing his ex-wife, which he obviously didn't, and then it's a goose-chase to find the actual killer before the police find HIM, although we learn in the end that the chief investigator never actually suspected Bryan. But obviously he never thought to tell him as much. Weird man. It all comes back to Kim's stepfather though, and the Russians, and they all get what's coming to them. Bryan included, as Kim tells him she's pregnant, and that she and her boyfriend are thinking of naming the baby Lenore after her mother if it's a girl.

Quote of the movie: "This is gonna end bad for you." "Don't be such a pessimist!"

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what they make of the TV show seeing as the movies were quite a big hit all around, but it might have been due to the fact that Liam Neeson spear-headed them. Hopefully Clive does a good job with the role as well! He should know how to kick ass pretty well though.

xx

*images and videos not mine