Taken is a series of English-language French action films, beginning with Taken in 2008, created by producer Luc Besson and American screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen. The dialogue of all three films is primarily English, and all three feature Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills. The first film received mixed reviews from critics but a positive response from audiences with commercial success. The series grossed a combined $929,451,015 worldwide.
The series has also experienced diminishing critical reception with each successive film.
A prequel television series based on a similar storyline and starring Clive Standen and Jennifer Beals premiered in February 2017.
Films Film U.S. release date Directors Screenwriters Producer(s) Taken Pierre Morel Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen Luc Besson Taken 2 Olivier Megaton Taken 3 Taken (2008)
A retired CIA operative named Bryan Mills crosses the globe to rescue his 17-year-old daughter after she is kidnapped by a group of Albanian smugglers while traveling in France.
Taken 2 (2012)
Mafia boss and terrorist Murad Hoxha, the father of Marko Hoxha, whom Bryan had killed by electrocution in the first film of the trilogy, plans to capture Bryan, who is vacationing with his family in Istanbul, and avenge his son's death.
Taken 3 (2015)
Bryan has been framed for the murder of his ex-wife, Lenore. He then sets out to clear his name by going after the real killers, while also eluding capture from U.S. authorities for whom he formerly worked.
Television Taken (2017–2018)
In September 2015, NBC ordered a Taken television series depicting a young Bryan Mills. In February 2016, Vikings actor Clive Standen was announced to play the young Bryan Mills, with Alex Carey as the showrunner.
Cast and crew Cast Characters Films Television series Taken Taken 2 Taken 3 Taken Season 1 Season 2 2008 2012 2014 2017 2018 Bryan Mills Liam Neeson Clive Standen Kimberly "Kim" Mills Maggie Grace Lenore "Lenny" Mills-St. John Famke Janssen Sam "Scott" Gilroy Leland Orser Michael Irby Mark Rem Casey Jon Gries James Landry Hébert Bernie Dave Harris David Warshofsky D. B. Sweeney David Warshofsky Jose Pablo Cantillo Jean-Claude Pitrel Olivier Rabourdin Marko Hoxha Arben Bajraktaraj Stuart St. John Xander Berkeley Dougray Scott Sheerah Holly Valance Amanda Katie Cassidy Patrice Saint-Clair Gérard Watkins Murad Hoxha Rade Šerbedžija Jamie Conrad Luke Grimes Inspector Durmaz Kevork Malikyan Inspector Franck Dotzler Forest Whitaker Oleg Malankov Sam Spruell Jimmy Jonny Weston Detective Smith Dylan Bruno Detective Garcia Don Harvey Detective Johnson Al Sapienza Christina Hart Jennifer Beals Asha Flynn Brooklyn Sudano John Gaius Charles Becca Vlasik Monique Gabriela Curnen Cali Mills Celeste Desjardins Harry Ward Dominic Fumusa Riley Jennifer Marsala Faaron Simu Liu Marzoki Ali Kazmi Elena Morales Layla Alizada Harden Kilroy Adam Goldberg Santana Jessica Camacho James Casey Peter Outerbridge Krystiyan Christian Bako
Reception Box office performance Film Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Reference(s) United States North America Other territories Worldwide All time North America All time worldwide Taken (2008) $145,000,989 $81,829,579 $226,830,568 #292 #500 $25,000,000 Taken 2 (2012) $139,854,287 $236,287,019 $376,141,306 #318 #219 $45,000,000 Taken 3 (2014) $89,256,424 $237,222,717 $326,479,141 #697 #357 $48,000,000 Total $ $ $ $118,000,000
Critical and public response Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore Taken (2008) 60% (178 reviews) 51 (32 reviews) A− Taken 2 (2012) 22% (173 reviews) 45 (35 reviews) B+ Taken 3 (2014) 13% (124 reviews) 26 (30 reviews) B+
In popular culture On January 15, 2015, to promote the American release of Taken 3, Liam Neeson starred in a short film on the show entitled Taken 4: A-Paco-Lypse on American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!; the short revolved around Bryan Mills helping his old friend Guillermo rescue his kidnapped dog, Paco from "Kimmel".Taken 4 with Liam Neeson, Guillermo & Jimmy Kimmel In 2017, Bryan Mills was featured in the fifth season of the web television series The Most Popular Girls in School, in which he is searching France for his daughter Kim, after she was kidnapped by a rival group of French models while representing the United States as a model herself. Liam Neeson reprises his role as Mills.
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