If Sally Field had been cast in this far-fetched revenge thriller instead of Liam Neeson, one could have easily called it “Not With My Daughter You Don’t.” But the patient-voiced Irishman is who we get and, despite his decision to waste his time and talent in an absurd piece of action fluff concocted by the guys who wrote the Transporter flicks, he’s the best thing about it.

He plays a divorced ex-spy who barks and barges his way across Eastern Europe to rescue his estranged teen daughter who was, um, taken from a Paris hotel by some nasty Albanians who decided she’s ripe for the sex-slave trade. As he basically tells the kid early on, he just knew this would happen.

It’s a shamelessly exploitative piece of work, from the vile bad guys to the way Neeson gets treated by his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) to the way his daughter is paraded in front of prospective buyers, and so maybe you don’t mind as Neeson beats, shoots and tortures anybody involved with taking the girl.

The direction by Pierre Morel (District B13) is for the most part unremarkable (as is the editing), though a car chase through a construction site does generate some excitement, as does watching Neeson race along in a shiny new Audi as he tries to catch up with the yacht where his girl’s being held.

Speaking of Neeson, while the film wouldn’t necessarily be unwatchable without him, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective. He’s the kind of guy, unlike, say, Jason Statham, with whom you easily sympathize. Plus he convinces you that he really could take out of a room full of Albanian scumbags all by himself.

It all reminded me of a similar, and better, thriller from 1985 called Target, in which retired CIA agent Gene Hackman drags son Matt Dillon to Europe to save his wife. It’s a classy gentleman of a movie, whereas Taken is just a brute. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]

Action/Crime/Drama/Thriller

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 5/12/09