Retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is living in Los Angeles to be closer to his estranged 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Kim is currently living with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and her new wealthy husband Stuart (Xander Berkeley). Bryan is trying to get a second chance as a father and reconnect with his daughter. After trying to be a part of his daughter’s birthday with mix-results, Bryan is greeted by his former operative friends for a night of drinking and cards. They convince him to do a security job that involves protecting pop star Sheerah (Holly Valance). He accepts and is crucial in preventing a attack on her after the concert. Sheerah later thanks Bryan for his help and offers him help with his daughter’s dreams of becoming a singer. The next day before he can tell his daughter the exciting news, he is bullied into allowing her to spend the summer in Paris with her best friend. When Kim and her best friend Amanda arrive in Paris, they are quickly greeted by a attractive stranger named Peter who offers to share a cab with them. He seems innocent enough but the chance encounter turns ugly when his colleagues arrive in the apartment. Kim is in the other room at the time talking to her father when she she’s the strangers arrive and attack Amanda. Bryan realizing she only has a few moments before they come after his daughter, begins to talk her through what is about to happen and tries to obtain as much information so he can track her assailants. Bryan quickly calls his contacts as he prepares to jump onto a Stuart’s plane for Paris. He learns that the abductors are speaking Albanian and they are part of a gang that is abducting young girls and forcing them into prostitution. They also tell him he has only a 96 hour window to locate them before they are lost forever.

So begins Bryan’s one man army search in Paris to find his daughter and take down the culprits before he loses his daughter forever. Along the way he leaves a trail of bodies as he slowly finds the answers to the truth.

Along with both the theatrical version of the film you have an optional Extended Cut of the film. The extended cut only includes a few extra minutes of graphic violence during the interrogation scene. You also have the digital copy option so you can take the Extended Cut with you on your MP3 player. You have two commentary tracks one with director Pierre Morel, cinematographer Michel Abramowicz and Michel Julienne and the other with writer Robert Mark Kamen. Both are very informative however the one with the director and cinematographer is all in French with English subtitles and a little hard to keep up with. The Black Ops Field Manual feature is the highlight of all the features. It is a bonus pop-up feature that runs through the entire Extended Cut version of the film. This feature includes a tally of Bryan’s kills, injuries to others, his time remaining and the distance traveled. It also includes popup information on the black ops and details on how his actions affect his victims. It’s a great unique feature. If that isn’t enough there is a few featurettes including Le Making Of, Avant Premiere and Inside Action: Side by Side Comparisons.

Taken is a fun smart action picture that has made people look at Liam Neeson in a whole new way. If you are a fan of the Borne films and Daniel Craig’s James Bond, then Taken is for you. Now available on Blu-ray the film with all its special features is well worth picking up.

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