“Taken,” 2008—Film

Directed by Pierre Morel and starring Liam Neeson, “Taken” contains the painfully perfect combination of special effects, over-the-top action scenes, corny one-liners, and a predictable rollercoaster of emotion. This Hollywood blockbuster aims to please the vast majority of the nation’s population —thrill-seeking meatheads, menopausal housewives, and, of course, misled adolescents.

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Is this the sort of entertainment bigwig Hollywood producers perceive as an industry goldmine? Have we, as a people, decided to throw in the towel on the war against unoriginality?

We have fallen victim to a deadly cycle: general American society is being stupefied by general American society.
The head-honchos of U.S. industry are polluting mainstream media and the bulk of consumers are entranced, almost demoralized, by the diluted garbage being shoved down their throats.

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A Hollywood brain-child, “Taken” opens portraying Bryan Mills (Neeson) as an average Joe: Somewhat estranged father role? Check. Gallivants amongst beer and BBQ with his pals? Got it covered. Puts on pants one leg at a time? You bet.
Indeed, Neeson’s character almost appears to be ordinary, even human-like, until his precious daughter is, you guessed it, taken. It is then revealed to the viewer that Bryan Mills secretly worked for the government in his past, yet his specific job title is omitted from the film entirely. Yes, only the crucial details remain: Mills’ ex-rouge warrior status apparently grants him cheetah-like reflexes, major ass-kicking abilities, and the aptitude to completely annihilate any angry looking foreign dude. Extraordinarily realistic.

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Film-making is an age-old art form, and the country of excess and glamor single-handedly sucked the art right out of it. These producers believe that they know what we want, treating us as a horde of moronic lab rats.

Where is the art, the beauty, the self-expression? Have we lost all moral fiber, sacrificed for the money-hungry movie Gods?