Action Movie Anatomy hosts Ben Bateman and Andrew Ghai break down Independence Day with guest host Cathy Kelley! Taken is a 2008 English-language French action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Holly Valance, Katie Cassidy, Xander Berkeley, Olivier Rabourdin, Gérard Watkins, and Famke Janssen. It is the first installment in the Takenfilm series. Neeson plays a former CIA operative named Bryan Mills who sets about tracking down his daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers for sexual slavery while traveling in France. Numerous media outlets have cited the film as a turning point in Neeson's career that redefined and transformed him to an action film star. The film was met with mixed critical response, but was a financial success, earning over $226 million at the box office. The film is widely credited with establishing Neeson as a credible ac