Pierre Morel's new film 'Taken' is simply one of the most retro and amusing action flicks to come out within the last ten years! The film behaves as if all the political correction madness never even occurred within this century as Liam Neeson's retired spy Bryan single-mindledly works his way through the entire ethnic population (as well as the corrupt officials) of Paris.

However this is not a bad thing. Scripted by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Karmen, Taken manages to use its' B movie attitude to its' advantage, crafting a film of adventure, excitement and amusement.

One of the most entertaining things about Taken is how it handles its' action scenes. Although we are all aware that Neeson never was and never will be the action hero of Hollywood, through clever sound and picture editing, the film manages to convey a real sense of how really dangerous this man is. Like watching Lee Marvin in Point Blank or reading Robert Parker novel, Taken is imbued with a dirty, downright adrenaline inducing atmosphere - by the time Leeson's character Bryan starts taking down the bad guys, you are cheering him all the way without sparing a single thought about ethics or any other moral qualm.

Taken is a film that definitely needs to be seen at the cinema - it's frentic, kinetic and madcap brand of action deserves the big screen - the only snag being that the UK version of the film is slightly trimmed and our sources tell us that some scenes are admittedly more brutal in the versions seen in other countries.

However this should not be a put-off to any - I guarantee you that you will not find another action film as brilliant as Taken this year.