I have long been a fan of Liam Neeson. As far back as Schindler’s List and Rob Roy, he has always had this larger-than-life sense of the “elegant European” for me ... smart, resourceful, and ready for action. So I can’t figure out why, when I caught him in Taken, I was surprised that he could pull off the action-thriller character so well!

Neeson plays ex-government operative Bryan Mills, a guy who is trying to re-connect with the daughter he left behind so often when duty called. The problem is that she’s just turned into a stunning young woman, and it’s her time to fly. As we pick up the story, she is angling to get her dad to let her take a summer trip to Europe. Bryan is beside himself knowing how dangerous the world is. His skepticism turns to nausea when it turns out she’s going to follow U2. He can thwart terrorist plots all day long, but when it involves his little girl, he practically comes unglued!

Ultimately he bends to her and her mother (played by Famke Janssen), and the game is on. Upon arriving in Paris, Kim (Maggie Grace) and her BFF are hit on by a charming young Frenchman who only wants to share a cab. As you might expect by the title, this is the first step in her violent abduction. They all get to the Parisian apartment, and Peter asks if they would like to attend a party later that night. Excited and delighted, the girls are unpacking and settling in when things go terribly wrong.

From a bathroom window, Kim watches as four men break in and kidnap her friend. Kim is on the phone with her father, who directs her and foreshadows her ultimate capture. The bad guys are brutal and efficient, but Bryan is able to hear the events unfold on the cell. One of her captors finds the device, and Bryan implores them to set his daughter free. When that doesn’t work, he tells the kidnappers of his background and how bad things are going to get for them. They obviously don’t know whom they are dealing with, and within hours, Bryan has not only caught up to them, but has them on the run. The question is, can he find his daughter before she is sold off into white slavery?!

Nothing in Taken is new. The plot has been done a thousand times before. The action sequences are in the Bourne tradition. The supporting cast is there to facilitate and nothing more. Even the wrap-up is weak as all get-out. But what makes this movie enjoyable is Neeson as Bryan Mills. In a box of 96 hours, he goes from an overlooked and forlorn father to a beleaguered and dangerous man in this tight 1-hour-and-31-minute thriller. The message is blurry, and the subtext is practically nonexistent, but Liam kicks butt and takes names in just about every frame — and by golly, it’s fun to watch the flesh-peddlers get their due!

I don’t know if I would spend movie-theater money on this one, but if you can catch it as a matinee or on DVD, it would make a good afternoon popcorn-muncher!

— In addition to being a great movie reviewer, Michael O’Brien Sr. owns and operates a DeLand-based catering service, Michael’s Gourmet to Go. E-mail him at movieman@beacononlinenews.com.