Taken, the series, on Amazon Prime has it's roots in the original 2008 Liam Neeson movie. It features a character called Bryan Mills, a former Green Beret, who is out for revenge when a personal tragedy shakes his world. However, he ends up in a secret team of deadly CIA operatives and must then take on very dangerous missions around the world. That's basically the plot which the entire two seasons revolve around.
Like a lot of tv shows in this genre, Taken is an over the top, all-out action fest. Every episode follows the same formula. The world is in imminent danger and only this team can solve the crisis before the earth implodes on itself. And just when there are mere seconds left, Bryan (Clive Standen from Vikings) and his fellow operatives get the job done. And all under the guidance of their beleaguered team leader Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals).
As formulaic tv shows go, most of the boxes do get ticked. However, in the midst of creating these convoluted and impossible scenarios, the showrunners forget that a half-decent script is a necessary part of the proceedings. Unlike The Blacklist, Blindspot or Homeland there is no real depth to anything that happens. It's more wham-bam with celebratory claps on the back over a few beers before the next crisis happens.
However, and I hate to admit this, the reality is that for all the eye-rolling inducing nonsense, Taken is still watchable and mildly compelling. I don't even know how that happened. It's the same as every other action show out there, just a little bit worse. The acting is questionable and every episode has the usual car chases, near-death misses, and hackers who can instantly tap into ever street cam and cctv to catch the bad guys. And yet, I still watched it.
If you except it for what it is, then you'll probably enjoy it. If you're looking for something different with real oomph then bypass it and don't waste your time.
