Taken (2008)
They took his daughter. He'll take their lives.
Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Kim. After reluctantly agreeing with his ex-wife to let Kim go to Paris on vacation with a friend, his worst nightmare comes true. While on the phone with his daughter shortly after she arrives in Paris, she and her friend are abducted by a gang of human traffickers. Working against the clock, Bryan relies on his extensive training and skills to track down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launch a one-man war to rescue his daughter.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 18 February 2008 |
| Genre | Action, Thriller |
| Director | Pierre Morel |
| Starring | Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen |
| Runtime | 94 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 5.8/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 60% · Metacritic 51/100 · TMDB users 7.4/10 |
| Budget | $25 million |
| Box office | $227 million worldwide |
Where to watch Taken
We could not find Taken on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Taken on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Taken in 58 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Algeria | Netflix about |
| Argentina | Disney+ $15599 ARS |
| Australia | Disney+ $17.99 AUD |
| Austria | Prime Video €8.99, Disney+ €10.99 |
| Bahrain | Netflix about |
| Belgium | Max €10.99 |
| Belize | Disney+ |
| Bolivia | Disney+ |
| Brazil | Disney+ R$49.90 |
| Canada | Disney+ $15.99 CAD |
| Chad | Netflix about |
| Chile | Disney+ $10990 CLP |
| Colombia | Disney+ $36900 COP |
| Costa Rica | Disney+ |
| Denmark | Viaplay 159 kr DKK |
| Dominican Republic | Disney+ |
| Ecuador | Disney+ $11.49 |
| Egypt | Netflix E£110 |
| El Salvador | Disney+ |
| Finland | Viaplay €13.99 |
| Germany | Prime Video €8.99, Disney+ €10.99 |
| Guatemala | Disney+ |
| Honduras | Disney+ |
| Hong Kong | Disney+ HK$88 |
| Iraq | Netflix about |
| Ireland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| Italy | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Jamaica | Disney+ |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY, Disney+ ¥1250 JPY |
| Jordan | Netflix about |
| Kuwait | Netflix about |
| Lebanon | Netflix about |
| Liechtenstein | Prime Video, Disney+ |
| Mexico | Disney+ $259 MXN |
| Morocco | Netflix |
| New Zealand | Disney+ $18.99 NZD |
| Nicaragua | Disney+ |
| Norway | Viaplay 169 kr NOK |
| Oman | Netflix about |
| Palestinian Territories | Netflix about |
| Panama | Disney+ $12.49 |
| Paraguay | Disney+ |
| Peru | Disney+ S/49.90 |
| Poland | Prime Video 25.99 zł |
| Qatar | Netflix about QR32.72 |
| San Marino | Disney+ |
| Saudi Arabia | Netflix ﷼35.00 |
| Spain | Prime Video €4.99, Disney+ €10.99 |
| St. Lucia | Disney+ |
| Sweden | Viaplay 169 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Prime Video CHF8.90, Disney+ CHF16.90 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Disney+ |
| Tunisia | Netflix about |
| United Arab Emirates | Netflix AED35.00 |
| United Kingdom | Disney+ £11.99 GBP |
| Uruguay | Disney+ about $U522 |
| Venezuela | Disney+ |
| Yemen | Netflix about |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Taken is a 94-minute action thriller directed by Pierre Morel. The hook is simple: a man with a violent past does what he was trained to do. Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson, travels to Paris to rescue his kidnapped daughter. He does not negotiate. He does not hesitate. He breaks bones and ends careers with a calm that is somehow more terrifying than the chaos around him. It is a film that treats revenge as a logistical problem. The violence is blunt and unapologetic. It is the definitive example of a dad going off the rails.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes sits at 60% as of August 2024, based on 178 reviews. That is a solid majority, though the average user rating is a modest 5.8/10. Metacritic is less generous, landing on 50 out of 100 as of July 2025, which categorizes the reception as mixed or average. Critics noticed the difference. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "preposterous" but also "very well made," a distinction that covers a lot of ground. Richard Corliss of Time said the film "has nothing more on its mind than dozens of bad guys getting beat up." The consensus leans toward fun, but barely.
How it did with audiences
$25 million in, $227 million out. The math is simple enough that a spreadsheet would envy it. In the US alone, it pulled in $145 million. On TMDB, users rate it 7.4 out of 10. It wasn't just a hit; it was a commercial event. The numbers suggest people actually liked it.
What came next for the cast
Liam Neeson went from Batman Begins to a string of action sequels and a movie about a talking bear. Olivier Rabourdin, known for one Joan of Arc film, later appeared in Midnight in Paris. Famke Janssen returned to the X-Men franchise, while Maggie Grace jumped into the Twilight saga. The credits list what came next, not why. They simply record the work that followed.
Where it left its mark
The phone call scene became a cultural fixture. Neeson’s character tells his daughter’s kidnappers he has specific, terrifying skills. The internet turned that monologue into a meme. Family Guy parodied it in a season 10 episode, with Peter Griffin telling Meg to panic. Neeson himself called the original scene "corny" and a "cornball." He admitted he felt that way too. The joke outlived the movie.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Taken.
Sources
- Taken on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q277080 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Taken (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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