2008 action thriller
Rating: 14/20
Plot: Some criminals in Paris kidnap the wrong gal, the daughter of an ex-CIA agent. He's got 72 hours to get her back. Start the clock!
This 24-ish thriller ain't bad. It's fun seeing Liam Neeson in these kinds of roles. He's actually kind of shaped funny, but the Irish accent actually convinces you that these movies are smarter than they actually are. Is there another action movie superstar who could get away with saying, "I push one button and thirty agents will be here before you have a chance to scratch your worthless balls. Now quit jerking around and wasting my time."? Quit jerking around? That's just great. Speaking of jerking around, this movie doesn't do a lot of that. There's exposition only because there has to be, and then BAM! Kidnapped daughter, Neeson getting his ass-kicking tools ready, and ass-kicking. The action scenes themselves are typical, your standard car chases and punching scenes, but at just over an hour and a half, this is well paced. Neeson's character's also got the brains to keep this interesting when there's not action on the screen. Of course, this is a Hollywood action movie, so you know how it's going to end and are going to have to put up with some silly storytelling. Here, there's this whole subplot with a singer that somebody involved with this should have had enough sense to put a stop to. Even the woman who played the singer probably should have stopped and said, "Hey, guys, I know this is going to make me expendable, but shouldn't we just drop this whole thing with my character?"
Someday when my daughters are older and thinking of going out on their own, I'm going to show them this movie just to scare the hell out of them. But after watching this, I may NEVER let them go anywhere by themselves. This film is pretty gratuitous and manipulative, but it gives you bad, bad guys and a good guy with a cause, then lets the violence commence. Kinda silly in spots, but good mindless entertainment. Also a 14.
ReplyDeleteMindless it is! This doesn't make any attempt to be tricky, throw in little twists, or do anything that would require the viewer to think. I don't think it's a dumb movie exactly, but a lot of action movies go for something a little more cerebral which I don't think is necessarily appropriate. This is pretty bare bones stuff.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the sequel? And I guess they're going to make a third one of these.
I haven't, but I'll probably see it at some point when I have nothing else to watch and I want to indulge my inner right-winger.
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