Taken

"The best action film since Bourne," says the marketing blurb. And for once they're not entirely wrong.

Taken is quite similar to the Bourne films in the way it is shot, so if you liked them, chances are you'll like this. My friend said it's basically Man On Fire meets Bourne, which is probably a fair assessment.

Liam Neeson is a great choice for the lead. He has the range to handle the emotionally charged scenes, but the action and fight scenes are something entirely new for him to play with and he excels in these. The fights are a little more violent than Bourne, but there's never any blood. Strangely I felt this added to the realism.

The background with the CIA is covered in a rather clunky and awkward scene with him reminiscing with his friends at a barbecue. But this can be forgiven because it is important to get it out of the way and get on with the story. All you need to know about his past is covered quickly in a few lines of dialogue.

As his search for his daughter intensifies, his increasing desperation is portrayed very well. He uses every contact, calls in every favour, burns every bridge.

Plot hole count: One.
My friend asked at the end "How did he get out of France?" I don't think this is a plothole in itself, given the character's background. But an interesting question is "Why didn't his friends go with him to help?" The answer being: because then it would have been a whole different animal, and personally I'm not sure I'd want to watch that. Seeing one man being ruthless in the pursuit of his daughter's kidnappers is one thing. Seeing a bunch of men being ruthless in the same pursuit is something else.

Score: A
It's rare I score anything an A, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and the cameo by Holly Valance pushed it over the B+ mark.

OQ: Please apologise to your wife for me*.

*Sounds like the dullest quote ever. Is actually a great scene.