Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is an ex-CIA agent trying to reestablish a relationship with his 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Against his better judgment, he bows to pressure from his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and signs a release enabling her to spend the summer in France. She's not even in country for 24 hours when she's kidnapped and sold into a slavery/prostitution ring. Utilizing his special skills, he tracks down her kidnappers and metes out justice in order to rescue his daughter.

The vigilante genre isn't known for breaking new ground, and Taken is no exception, but it's damn entertaining! Director Pierre Morel does a great job building the suspense in the first act, and once Neeson begins dispensing his brand of justice, there's plenty of action. The ending is satisfying, although predictable. Regardless, it's one of the best action films I've seen in a long time.

Most day-and-date titles look fantastic on Blu-ray, and Taken continues the trend. The AVC encode has great detail, rich color saturation, and inky blacks. Both close-ups and long shots are clearly defined and sharp, flesh tones are natural and well-balanced, and the print is in perfect condition. The one downside is that the director spends very little time showing off the city of Paris, which looks magnificent in HD.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack exhibits phenomenal bass and an enveloping surround presence. Gunshots sound freakishly realistic in both depth and clarity, and the track's frequency response is extraordinary. Dialog is always intelligible, and discrete effects fly across the room from every direction in the well-choreographed action scenes.

The two-disc set includes a digital copy of the film as well as a smattering of supplements. The best feature is the Bonus View "Black Ops Field Manual" that keeps an injury, kill, and time-remaining counter during the film. It also provides some interesting tidbits on various subjects—for instance, did you know that human trafficking is the third most profitable criminal activity in the world?

Additional bonus features include two commentaries —one in French—as well as both the theatrical and unrated versions of the film (I watched the unrated version, which has two additional minutes). Rounding things out are a making-of featurette, a look at the Paris premiers, and side-by-side comparisons of six action sequences, which show the rough footage next to the final version found in the film.

The story is far from original, but the action is non-stop, and the 90 minutes fly by thanks to superb directing and Neeson's action-hero persona. The audio and video are tremendous, making this an easy film to recommend.

Release Date: May 12, 2009
Studio: Fox

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 9/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics