Taken is a series of English-language French action films, beginning with Taken in 2008, created by producer Luc Besson and American screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. The dialogue of all three films is primarily English, and all three feature Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills. The first film received mixed reviews from critics but a positive response from audiences with commercial success. The series grossed a combined $929,451,015 worldwide.
| Taken | |
|---|---|
 The DVD cover for the 3-film box set | |
| Directed by | Pierre Morel (1) Olivier Megaton (2-3) |
| Screenplay by | |
| Produced by | Luc Besson |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
|
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Nathaniel Méchaly |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by |
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Release date | 2008–2014 |
Running time | 294 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $118,000,000 |
| Box office | $929,451,015 |
The series has also experienced diminishing critical reception with each successive film.
A prequel television series based on a similar storyline and starring Clive Standen and Jennifer Beals premiered in February 2017.
Films
editTaken (2008)
editA retired CIA operative named Bryan Mills crosses the globe to rescue his 17-year-old daughter after she is kidnapped by a group of Albanian smugglers while traveling in France.
Taken 2 (2012)
editMafia boss and terrorist Murad, the father of Marko, whom Bryan had killed by electrocution in the first film of the trilogy, plans to capture Bryan, who is vacationing with his family in Istanbul, and avenge his son's death.
Taken 3 (2014)
editBryan has been framed for the murder of his ex-wife, Lenore. He then sets out to clear his name by going after the real killers, while also eluding capture from U.S. authorities for whom he formerly worked.
Television
editTaken (2017–2018)
editIn September 2015, NBC ordered a Taken television series depicting a young Bryan Mills.[1] In February 2016, Vikings actor Clive Standen was announced to play the young Bryan Mills, with Alex Carey as the showrunner.[2]
Cast and crew
editCast
edit| Characters | Films | Television series | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taken | Taken 2 | Taken 3 | Taken | ||
| Season 1 | Season 2 | ||||
| 2008 | 2012 | 2014 | 2017 | 2018 | |
| Bryan Mills | Liam Neeson | Clive StandenM | |||
| Kimberly "Kim" Mills | Maggie Grace | ||||
| Lenore "Lenny" Mills-St. John | Famke Janssen | ||||
| Sam "Scott" Gilroy | Leland Orser | Michael Irby | |||
| Mark Rem Casey | Jon Gries | James Landry Hébert | |||
| Bernie Dave Harris | David Warshofsky | D. B. Sweeney | David Warshofsky | Jose Pablo Cantillo | |
| Jean-Claude Pitrel | Olivier Rabourdin | ||||
| Marko Hoxha | Arben Bajraktaraj | Arben BajraktarajAP | |||
| Stuart St. John | Xander Berkeley | Mentioned | Dougray Scott | ||
| Sheerah | Holly Valance | ||||
| Amanda | Katie Cassidy | ||||
| Patrice Saint-Clair | Gérard Watkins | ||||
| Murad Hoxha | Rade Šerbedžija | ||||
| Jamie Conrad | Luke Grimes | ||||
| Inspector Durmaz | Kevork Malikyan | ||||
| Inspector Franck Dotzler | Forest Whitaker | ||||
| Oleg Malankov | Sam Spruell | ||||
| Jimmy | Jonny Weston | ||||
| Detective Smith | Dylan Bruno | ||||
| Detective Garcia | Don Harvey | ||||
| Detective Johnson | Al Sapienza | ||||
| Christina Hart | Jennifer BealsM | ||||
| Asha Flynn | Brooklyn SudanoM | ||||
| John | Gaius CharlesM | ||||
| Becca Vlasik | Monique Gabriela CurnenM | ||||
| Cali Mills | Celeste DesjardinsR | Celeste DesjardinsP | |||
| Harry Ward | Dominic FumusaR | ||||
| Riley | Jennifer MarsalaR | ||||
| Faaron | Simu LiuR | ||||
| Marzoki | Ali KazmiR | ||||
| Elena Morales | Layla AlizadaR | ||||
| Harden Kilroy | Adam GoldbergM | ||||
| Santana | Jessica CamachoM | ||||
| James Casey | Peter OuterbridgeR | ||||
| Krystiyan | Christian BakoR | ||||
Crew
edit| Crew | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Taken | Taken 2 | Taken 3 | |
| Director | Pierre Morel | Olivier Megaton | |
| Writer | Luc Besson Robert Mark Kamen | ||
| Producer | Luc Besson | ||
| Music | Nathaniel Méchaly | ||
| Distributor | EuropaCorp (France) 20th Century Fox (US) | ||
Reception
editBox office performance
edit| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | |||
| Taken (2008) | January 30, 2009 | $145,000,989 | $81,829,579 | $226,830,568 | #292 | #500 | $25,000,000 | [3] |
| Taken 2 (2012) | October 5, 2012 | $139,854,287 | $236,287,019 | $376,141,306 | #318 | #219 | $45,000,000 | [4] |
| Taken 3 (2014) | January 9, 2015 | $89,256,424 | $237,222,717 | $326,479,141 | #697 | #357 | $48,000,000 | [5][6] |
| Total | $374,111,700 | $555,339,315 | $929,451,015 | $118,000,000 | [7] | |||
Critical and public response
edit| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taken (2008) | 60% (178 reviews)[8] | 51 (32 reviews)[9] | A−[10] |
| Taken 2 (2012) | 22% (173 reviews)[11] | 45 (35 reviews)[12] | B+[10] |
| Taken 3 (2014) | 13% (124 reviews)[13] | 26 (30 reviews)[14] | B+[10] |
In popular culture
edit- On January 15, 2015, to promote the American release of Taken 3, Liam Neeson starred in a short film on the show entitled Taken 4: A-Paco-Lypse on American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!; the short revolved around Bryan Mills helping his old friend Guillermo rescue his kidnapped dog, Paco from "Kimmel".[15]
- In 2017, Bryan Mills was featured in the fifth season of the web television series The Most Popular Girls in School, in which he is searching France for his daughter Kim, after she was kidnapped by a rival group of French models while representing the United States as a model herself. Liam Neeson reprises his role as Mills.
References
edit- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (17 September 2015). "'Taken' Prequel TV Series Ordered by NBC with Luc Besson Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (22 February 2016). "Clive Standen Joins NBC's Taken Series". TVLine. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Taken (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Taken 2 (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Taken 3 (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ Lang, Brent (7 January 2015). "Box Office: Liam Neeson and 'Taken 3' to Unseat 'The Hobbit'". Variety. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ "Taken Franchise". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
- ^ "Taken (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Taken (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Taken 2 (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Taken 2 (2012): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ "Taken 3 (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Taken 3 (2015): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ Taken 4 with Liam Neeson, Guillermo & Jimmy Kimmel