Taken

Taken (Pierre Morel, 2009) - B+

Completely preposterous in the best possible way -- painted in broad strokes, but in ways that are clever and self-aware: the set-up is that Neeson quit the CIA to rebuild his relationship with his teenage daughter after neglecting it his entire career, and the way the movie establishes this is absurdly over the top, but made plausible by Neeson's humble performance and the screenplay's puppy-dog sincerity. (When Neeson proudly presents his daughter with a karaoke machine for her birthday only to be upstaged by her step dad trotting out a horse, I laughed like a hyena, most likely frightening everyone else in the audience.) It's an off-kilter but believable emotional core that makes the rest of the film truly suspenseful even when it's hilariously unlikely. (Neeson's trick of identifying the villain by voice would have been a dealbreaker in nearly every other movie.) It helps, too, that the movie busts out an occasional moody, sinister flourish, like the climactic auction. Just outstanding entertainment, and rare.