For the young people, at least, Hollywood has ushered in a new era of action movies. Their governing philosophy is that realism, not the escapist Hollywood magic of old, is what the 21st century audience wants to be watching. So instead of “The Terminator” series and its quasi-scientific apocalyptic plotlines, we have “The Dark Knight,” in which the impending doom comes not from nuclear attacks but from the degradation of morality.
Now the adults are fighting back. They have responded enthusiastically with “Taken,” essentially “The Bourne Identity” for those suffering mid-life crises.
It appears that Liam Neeson grew jealous of Daniel Craig for monopolizing awesome’s exportation from of the United Kingdom. In ass-kicking father Bryan Mills (Neeson), he has created a formidable challenge. Instead of amnesia, Mills’ emotional crisis is paternal: his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace of “Lost” fame) and her friend Amanda have been kidnapped by sex traffickers ““ minutes after they arrive in France.
Mills isn’t your ordinary overprotective father, though. As he explains to the kidnappers, he has a “very particular set of skills,” which turns out to include producing IVs out of thin air and doing imaginative things with walkie-talkies. He acquired these skills during his days as a “preventer of bad things,” as he so eloquently describes it using perhaps the worst available synonym for secret agent.
Of course, this is the last profession anyone would associate with Neeson, so to convince us it’s true, Mills spends a good 10 minutes palling around with his spy buddies, reminiscing about espionage like it was college football. This does little to establish Neeson’s credibility as an action star; once he gets to France, though, he wreaks havoc with a vengeance even Jason Bourne can’t ignore.
But even when it comes to violent rampages, there are boundaries, and “Taken” ignores all of them in a blatant overcompensation for Neeson’s age and reputation. Mills does not hesitate to shoot, punch or electrocute anyone if he even suspects they might stand in his way ““ leaving no doubt that Neeson can handle action, but raising a few questions about how well the writers understand what makes a good thriller.
Instead of pitting Mills against a worthy opponent, they set him on a marathon of fight sequences with inconsequential enemies, replacing dramatic tension with an onslaught of adrenaline.
The good news is that the excess is ridiculous enough to keep things hilariously, though unintentionally, entertaining. Neeson’s bid for legitimacy quickly becomes a farce. He annihilates bad guys with such ease that he might just be the new Chuck Norris.
The dialogue ““ a combination of the stalest spy thriller bits and inexplicable lines like “now’s not the time for dick-measuring” ““ is presumably not Neeson’s fault, but it’s bad enough to make viewers consider that maybe he took the role ironically.
What was ultimately meant to give depth to the film and separate it from the ranks of mindless action movies, however, is the father-daughter dynamic.
The connection between Bryan and Kim feels contrived without providing more accidental comedy, and although you can’t help but root for Neeson, it’s hard to remember that all the violence is for his daughter.
This leaves “Taken” without a substantial reason for existing, unless you count watching a middle-aged Irish man humiliate an entire population of Albanian criminals. Unfortunately, there are some problems you can’t fight your way out of.
E-mail Goodman at agoodman@media.ucla.edu.