Opening 19 Feb 2009
Directed by:
Pierre Morel
Writing credits:
Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Principal actors:
Marc Amyot, Arben Bajraktaraj, Radivoje Bukvic, Mathieu Busson, Xander Berkeley
Statistically, kidnapped victims have a 96-hour window of time to be found alive, and former espionage agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) knows this. He reluctantly agreed, under pressure from 17-year-old Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), to Kim and friend Amanda’s (Katie Cassidy) vacation in Paris. The girls arrive and Bryan, on the phone with Kim as kidnappers break into the Parisian flat, gets invaluable information. He knows he alone is equipped with the characteristics, contacts and uncontrollable desire, to save them.
Whisked from U.S. opulence to Parisian areas which tourists do not visit, director Pierre Morel, together with fine performances from an international cast, keep us on our seat’s edge. Scriptwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen escape the absurd situation they have created by throwing everything into the last fifteen minutes so the hero can win. Still it is a good chase. (Marinell Haegelin)
