TAKEN

CAROLINE: I was very excited to see the new Liam Neeson flick “Taken” because the trailer was so gripping. The only thing that made me nervous was that it was originally supposed to come out in September, but got bumped till now; and as we know, that’s not a good sign.

RYAN: I too was stoked after seeing the trailer, and I have to admit that even though it’s a typical January release, it errs on the good side.

CAROLINE: Totally. I definitely got caught up in the intensity of it, and I couldn’t get over how great Liam Neeson was. I totally believed him as a government operative-type. He was such a badass.

RYAN: I’m sorry, but he has alien ears. Seriously, they’re like Spock ears or elf ears or something otherworldly. I couldn’t help but inspect them in every close up.

CAROLINE: You’re weird. I didn’t even notice. He was so cool in this movie, even though some of the stuff that goes down is kinda far-fetched.

RYAN: You just know this is the kind of role Matt Damon is going to want to play when he’s Liam Neeson’s age. It’s very “Die Hard” meets Jason Bourne.

CAROLINE: I loved the kidnapping premise. Of course, it’s a little convenient that a former government operative with mad tracking skills has his daughter who gets kidnapped overseas; but I’ll let it slide. Nothing is cooler than the speech Liam Neeson gives to his daughter’s captors. It’s in the trailer and it’s what made me want to see the movie.

RYAN: That speech was so well written. I was surprised at how violent Liam’s character was, but definitely glad of it. It made for an exciting movie. And can I just say that Maggie Grace should not be playing a 17-year old.

CAROLINE: Oh my God, that’s the first thought I had in this movie! It’s absurd. She’s in, like, her mid-20s. And while she’s very pretty and young-looking, 17 she is not.

RYAN: I didn’t love the way her role was written, especially at the end. And I wasn’t thrilled with Maggie Grace’s acting. I liked her much better on “Lost.”

CAROLINE: Some of the scenes were downright frightening. I don’t want to give anything away, but to think that this stuff actually happens in real life is terrifying.

RYAN: Famke Janssen plays the mom and she was so good that I wonder why she isn’t in more movies.

CAROLINE: She always looks great, except her eyebrows scared me a little in this one. They were overplucked, and I suspect she’s been hitting the Botox hard.

— BOTTOM LINE —

RYAN: I very much enjoyed the action in this movie, and overall had a good time. It’s a slightly better-than-average film, and definitely the best of the movies opening this weekend. But given a choice, I’d still choose to see an Oscar contender over this.

CAROLINE: Definitely; there are still a ton of great Oscar caliber movies in theaters right now left over from last year. But even though this movie isn’t brilliant by any means, it’s fast-paced and entertaining and Liam Neeson is great. It’s not a must-see, but if you’re in the mood for a fun ride, it’s a good one. There were definitely a few weak moments and some unrealistic scenes, but if you can get over that and just enjoy it for what it is, you’ll be fine.

— RATING —