Taken With Taken

What's most important in a successful movie, it's been said, is rooting interest. You've got to have, early on, a good reason to care about the protagonist, and wish for him to succeed. I think that explains much of the surprising success of Taken.

The film wasn't well-reviewed, and Liam Neeson doesn't exactly open films, but the story hits all the right beats to work with a crowd.

First, we meet the protagonist, Bryan Mills, a decent guy who lives simply and has given up a lot. He clearly loves his teenage daughter, but she now lives with his ex-wife and a super-rich stepfather. So we sympathize with him.

Next, it turns out he's a highly talented (and modest) special ops guy, who served his country well, and, though retired, is still at the top of his game. So we respect him.

Finally, they put the daughter in serious jeopardy, and make the criminals unspeakably vile. So we share his righteous anger, and don't really care how much mayhem he has to commit to save her.

The movie still requres reasonably good action and plot twists, but without a strong base to build on, it wouldn't work. But because the audience is with the character, it can coast over weaknesses and implausibilities that would destroy another film.