‘Taken,’ the start of many not-so-great film trends, turns 15

Sure, it was an enjoyable action film, starring an ass-kicking Liam Neeson. But from Ikea zipties to Pizzagate, it also helped give us the trafficking panic

When Taken arrived on U.S. film screens in late January of 2009 — 15 years ago this week – it didn’t come across like any type of historically significant piece of cinema. But the ensuing years proved it surprisingly influential- and not all in positive ways. 

Taken, the story of a retired spy (Liam Neeson) rescuing his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from Albanian human traffickers, made at least five key contributions to film culture: It kicked off a new phase of Liam Neeson’s career, establishing him as an action leading man throughout his 50s and 60s. Along those lines, it spawned numerous imitators and ripoffs, two of which were proper Taken sequels, and many more of which starred Neeson outside the proper Taken franchise. The majority of those films were released in January, thereby changing the meaning of what a “January movie” is.