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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Taken

    Featured In Issue 141, July/August 2009

    Picture4
    Sound4.5
    WSR Score5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    2255469
    (MPAA Rating):
    PG-13/Unrated
    (Rating Reason):
    Intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language
    (Retail Price):
    $39.99
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    90/93
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2009
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    05/12/09
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Pierre Morel
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    Taken chronicles events centered around a kidnapping. When his estranged teenage daughter (Grace) is kidnapped upon her arrival in Paris, a former spy (Neeson) sets out to find her at any cost. Relying on his special skills, he tracks down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launches a one-man war to bring them to justice and rescue his daughter. (Gary Reber)

    The Blu-ray Disc™ contains both the theatrical version (90:55) and the unrated extended version (93:25); commentary by Director Pierre Morel and Cinematographer Michel Abramowicz (unrated version only); commentary by Writer Robert Mark Kamen (unrated version only); Le Making Of (HD 18:24), a Black Ops Field Manual Bonus View picture-in-picture (unrated version only); Avant Premiere (HD 04:48); Inside Action-side-by-side comparisons; trailers; up-front previews; plus a digital copy of the film.

    The picture exhibits a gritty character with slight grain. Fleshtones are often unnatural in appearance and colors are slightly desaturated. Blacks are, at times, slightly crushed, which is evident in dark scenes. Otherwise, shadow delineation is nicely revealing of details in dark shadows. Resolution can be soft at times, but otherwise, the picture is sharp, with fine facial features and textures exhibited. While uneven in appearance, the action scenes are exciting. (Gary Reber)

    The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1 soundtrack is exciting, with plenty of intense SPL and aggressive .1 LFE extension to below 25 Hz. The sound is holosonic® with impressive dimension, including phantom center-back imaging. Surrounds are aggressive in envelopment, and sound effects are directionalized. The action scenes are extremely dynamic and powerful. There are effective pans throughout the soundfield that enhance dimension. The music score is well recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage. What is deficient is the forward-sounding ADR and production dialogue and, as well, Foley effects. Nonetheless, this is a fabulous soundtrack, especially once the action sequences kick in and continue to the end. (Gary Reber)

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    Cameron David Martinez
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