Taken is a 2008 English-language French action thriller film written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and directed by Pierre Morel. It stars Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Katie Cassidy, Leland Orser, and Holly Valance. Neeson plays Bryan Mills, a former CIA operative who sets about tracking down his teenage daughter Kim and her best friend Amanda after the two girls are kidnapped by Albanian human traffickers while traveling in France during a vacation.
Taken grossed more than $226 million. Numerous media outlets have cited the film as a turning point in Neeson’s career that redefined and transformed him into an action film star. The first film in the Taken franchise, Taken was followed by two sequels—Taken 2 and Taken 3—released in 2012 and 2014, respectively. A television series for the series premiered in 2017 on NBC, with Clive Standen portraying Bryan Mills
