The greatest movie ever made..!

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

An Exercise In Nonsense

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

...it's small wonder that Steven "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" Spielberg was the guy riding shotgun on this production, not to mention the wide range of acting, directing, and production talent who collaborated to bring this baby to fruition. Just to mention a few: exacting art direction by Chris "Minority Report" Gorak; stellar DP work from Joel "The X-Files" Ransom and Jonathan "Possible Worlds" Freeman; tight direction from the likes of Tobe "Invaders From Mars" Hooper, Jeremy "Roswell" Kagan, and numerous others with shows like "The X-Files," "Dark Angel," and "The Outer Limits" under their belts; effective special effects and make-up from the Dreamworks team; last but not least, some prime performances from a generation-spanning cast, capped off by an exquisite turn from rising star (pun fully intended), Dakota "I Am Sam" Fanning. All of these efforts build on the foundation of a well-structured script from Leslie Bohem, a writer who unfortunately has yet to be attached to a successful film beyond "A Nightmare on Elm Stree: Dream Warriors." I won't belabor the plot, other than to mention that it covers most all the bases in modern UFO mythology. The core of the tale is the various human (and alien) relationships that form over the course of the half century or so in which it unfolds, and for the most part these are handled very well indeed. Characterizations are consistent and believable within the context of the fantastical content, with only occasional lapses in logic beyond the obvious ones that afflict the genre (like, just how does the government keep a tight lid on a cover-up that involves hundreds if not thousands of personnel, but never mind, that takes the fun out of the telling of it). I watched it twice on DVD with a number of years between viewings, and liked it both times, particularly enjoying the precocious talents of Ms. Fanning.Probably the only real complaint I'd lodge would be against the typically Spielbergian, highly manipulative score by Laura Karpman. I think the show might have been all the more impressive without such overt plucking of heartstrings and sluicing of tear ducts.Regardless, "Taken" is a fine piece of work, very engaging, and if nothing else, helped propel Ms. Fanning into the ranks of acting stardom. Recommended to all fans of the genre.

I really don't understand how this show has such a high overall rating or where the people are coming from who gave it positive reviews.I gave up halfway through the second episode as it was so boring it hurt! I am amazed that Spielberg was involved in this, what was he thinking?! The acting is dire, the effects look like something from 1971, the plot is vague and the script is like something written by a retired maths teacher who has never married.Maybe it improved as the series went on? I don't know as I would rather gouge out my right eye with a spoon than continue watching to find out!I just wish there was a way I could get back the time of my life that I wasted attempting to watch this rubbish!

Taken is good example of American television challenge cinema for quality. This mini-series is brilliantly written and has a lot of depth to it. They must have been a lot of research done and the writer must have had one hell of an imagination.The show is set from the 1940s to the modern day (which was 2002/2003) and set across America. From the 40s aliens started to abduct humans and generations of the same families suffer from it. In 1947 an alien spacecraft crashes at Roswell and the American government get interested in these events. The programmes focus on three families: the Clarkes, the Keys and the Crawfords. The Keys men had suffered from being abducted and try and find ways to stop it and test themselves to their limits. The Clarkes get mixed when a mysterious stranger arrives at their farm in Texas and impregnates Sally, the mother and the son from the affairs has special powers. The Crawfords where the family who get involved and become very influential in the government programme in investigating the abductions.This programme was well plotted, with some good actors and excellent production values. This was the programme who discovered Dakota Fanning and helped made her a star.The programme also tackles ideas about conspiracies, the role of the military and freedom of the press. There are scientific theory being looked at and concepts of time and space. There is a little issue about the use of Nazi Scientists by the Americans. Finally there are historical events being looked at such as the Cuban Military Crisis, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the End of the Cold, the Afghanistan invasion, Cold War paranoia and psychological warfare.

This series had the potential to one of TVs great. Unfortunately it was very much ruined by the terrible cast. I don't know where they found these amateurs, and I'll never understand why they didn't get any decent actors to be on this production. Thanks to this, I had a hard time keeping my interest up for 10 episodes lasting 1.20 each. At times I had to force myself through an entire episode, as it was too much "daytime soap" over it all. I wish this series had been done with some class actors and better casting, then it would've been a 10/10. If HBO is able to pull it off in almost every series they churn out, why not this?