I Still Love The Movie Taken. A Week Is All I Need To Forgive My Crazy Uncle Liam.

“Taken” may well be the most perfectly structured movie of the past twenty years. “Taken” is endlessly watchable and never fails to impress. I watched the movie last night. Enjoyed it again. My heart has warmed to Liam again. If I’m ever walking along a street and the old bastard leaps out of the shadow and bashes my head in with a brass cosh, well, who needs to know? 

I’m not proud of this but I like Liam’s movies too much to allow my highly cultivated sense of right and wrong to get in the way of a good time. I’ve downloaded too many of his movies onto my hard drive. If I’m stuck on a long train journey or my Netflix connection is down, I can always bring up Taken and marvel at old man Liam doing his bone crunching thing and not immediately fear for my own safety. 

I’ve known Liam for too long to ditch him. I’ve watched his big frame lumber across the screen in numerous cinema theatres around the world.  I’ve watched those broad, sloping shoulders ease through countless door frames as he stares down a room fool of no-good bastards. He’s saved thousands of innocent Jews from certain death at the hands of dastardly Nazis; trained a youthful, slightly arrogant, though rich-in-promise Ben Kenobi in the ways of the Force; rescued his underfed, and profoundly ungrateful daughter from scumbag sex traffickers; single-handedly fought off packs of hungry, scavenging wolves; prevented cold-eyed socialists from hijacking planes. If that’s not enough why, in “A Walk Amongst The Tombstones”, Liam formed a deep, meaningful bond with a homeless, young black drug addict who needed a stand-in dad. In 2019’s “Widows” he even slept with Viola Davis; he even married Viola before his friends and admitted to people that she was his real wife. 

I know that Liam likes Black people who can remember their lines and not get in the way of his close ups. What more can anyone ask for? 

How can anyone expect me to remain angry at this man for too long? Over time he’s virtually become a member of my family. An Older Uncle who I’m always glad to see, even if his latest jokes around the Sunday dinner table sometimes offend. Am I really prepared to have my enjoyment of several great movies ruined because my beloved uncle spoke some crazy old man foolishness and upset a few strangers? Okay, I was pissed too, but.. but am I never to watch Taken again? I can do without the sequels, yes, but give up on Liam’s action masterpiece. 

That’s a big ask. 

I think not. Best to scrub Uncle Liam’s recent words from memory and move on – as one always does when a beloved member of your family screws up.