Thoughts On: Taken T.V. Series (2017) - Pilot

Television producers are currently experiencing a dry spell like no other in that they are turning to recognizable cinematic properties for their television series. While this is not strange, as television series have been based around film properties before, lately there have been a string of dry adaptations and blatant rip-offs to superior cinematic properties, most notably the failed Rush Hour series, the currently on air Lethal Weapon, and the brand new Training Day series. What's sad is that none of these series add to their franchises or successfully duplicate what made the originals so great. Instead, they blatantly rip-off what was done so much better before, but now done far worse. Television producers think they can simply replace said stars with other actors and duplicate the formula again and call it a day, but that doesn't equal quality.

The latest entry in this series of unnecessary television adaptations of superior action films is Taken, a prequel series that no one asked for. I'm embarrassed to even be writing about this new series, but I have been morbidly curious to check it out due to my love for the original film and because this show seems so unnecessary. There's no denying that the Taken series has been one of dwindling creative returns. Each successive film in the series has been drastically worse than the previous (click here, here, and here, for my detailed reviews of each film). However, each sequel has been more successful than the previous, which means that the Taken brand is a viable and marketable one that people will seemingly turn out for no matter what. The abuse of that brand name is now put to the test with the Taken television series, the second series to be adapted from a string of EuropaCorp action films, the first being the Transporter series, which sucked the big one.

Although completely unnecessary, the Taken series acts as a prequel to the first film, finding a young Bryan Mills (now played by Clive Standen) aboard a train with his sister. When Mills notices some suspicious characters on the train, he alerts his sister to cause a distraction so that he can take out the armed gunmen. After dispatching the men in quick Mills fashion, including one of Mills trademark punches from the first film, his poor sister dies in the ensuing confusion. Later, Mills is recruited to join the CIA and help them due to this exemplary skills that day, which will lead him on the path to discover those trusty skills of his that he puts to use over the course of the films.

I have to be honest, I did not watch the entire episode, simply because it got so bad at one point that I had to start fast forwarding to what looked like the most exciting or interesting parts. Besides a promising start, and I say that with the utmost kindness, the show quickly devolves into your typical network action thriller with copious amounts of boring exposition and dull dialog. The most obvious issue is that the series features no real similarities to the Taken films, besides the fact that it is a show about a CIA agent who kicks ass. 

Will the real Bryan Mills please stand up?

The plot is obviously different, but instantly less gripping, as a story about a protective father on a time crunch is far more exciting than an origin story about that father before he became a father. Also, when you take away Bryan's status as a father, which includes his protective nature towards his daughter, he immediately becomes a far less interesting character, as he is simply your average action hero. Although the show's writers and producers think they are paying tribute to the first film, it's honestly more in line with Taken 2 and Taken 3, as it's nothing more than your average action film with the Taken brand name. 

The show is also in line with the sequels in that its action is rather disappointing, with there being hardly any in the entire pilot. The only action scene that I would deem memorable is the opening train assault, specifically because it felt creative in its construction. It also reminded me of one of my favorite action films from the 90s, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, which you should watch instead of this garbage television show. A shootout later on has some solid action shots, including a part where Bryan rolls around whilst firing two pistols, but beyond that, none of the action is well shot, falling very much in line with Olivier Megaton's nauseating queasy cam post-action. Also, firing two guns at once doesn't seem very Bryan Mills if you ask me. After all, Bryan is supposed to be a well trained and skilled CIA agent who always uses one hand gun at a time and aims all of his shots. I know that this is supposed to be an origin story to Bryan's bad ass skills, but I highly doubt that the writers thought about Bryan's shooting tactics, which proves how much they respect the character.

There's not much to say about this one folks. The Taken television series is so bad, that it actually makes Taken 3 (alternately titled Tak3n for those who didn't know what film I was referring too) look good, darn near competent even. A bad action film can always be redeemed by some half decent action and the star power of its notable actors, such as with Neeson in Taken 3 or even Jason Statham in another Megaton directed action film, Transporter 3. But the Taken television series not only has the dull as hell plotting and weak character work of those films, but barely any action to write home about, let alone a star to remember. Therefore, and I say this with all honesty, there is nothing to recommend in this show. Now that we live in a day and age of incredible television that usurps the work on the big screen, we don't have time for this kind of I.P. driven crap. Unless you are willing to create the next Jack Bauer or Bryan Mills for television, don't fall back onto a previously developed character and think that you are doing anything fresh or exciting. I fully expect Taken to be cancelled by the end of its first season, as absolutely nobody is talking about it, let alone watching it.