Article first published as TAKEN Review on Seat42F.
Tired of the trend of movies turned into
television shows yet? Me, too, but that doesn’t mean the networks are
going to stop trying any time soon. Tonight, NBC
jumps in with TAKEN, a prequel to the movies bearing the same title.
Well, sort of a prequel because the technology used by the characters is
from our present day, not set in the past. But character-wise, this is
the back story for the lead guy.
TAKEN the series begins with Bryan Mills
(Vikings’ Clive Standen taking over for Liam Neeson) out of the special
forces, but not yet working for the CIA. He has done things that have
made some people mad, terrorists mostly, and they want revenge. So the
people that Bryan cares about are put in danger as his past catches up
with him in violent ways. Yep, consistent with the big screen Mills.
This violence is the core of TAKEN, as
far as I can tell. In the first hour alone, I’d estimate almost half of
it involves sneaking around, fighting, and shooting. From the
adrenaline-pumping, tragic opening, to the climactic showdown, this is,
by and large, a popcorn adventure, with much more focus on action than
on character development.
In fact, while there are some character
moments in this pilot, I would argue that there really isn’t any notable
character development in the first episode, nor will I expect to see
any in future episodes. Bryan seems more or less the same person at the
beginning as he is at the end, and will remain roughly the same
individual in the films. There is a very stagnant consistency that is
disappointing. It would be far more interesting to see Bryan grow into a
badass than to have him ready-made this way. Though, given his
established background, I guess TAKEN would have to start much earlier
in his story to do that kind of arc.
While everything is happening to Bryan
and he’s running around, the perspective does frequently switch back to
Christina Hart (Jennifer Beals, The L Word, Flashdance) and her CIA
team. They are watching Bryan, trying to decide when and if they should
recruit him. Given that Beals and several of the others are listed as
main players, it should be no surprise that they make a decision in the
affirmative pretty quickly; Bryan has to join them before things can
really start. But the inclusion of the various team members that make up
the core ensemble indicate that TAKEN will be a series of procedural
missions, the obvious way to go with this series, and a format TV
definitely does not need any more of.
I will say, given that TAKEN is on NBC, rather than CBS or FOX, it does feel a little less formulaic than it otherwise might. NBC
doesn’t typically box in their series so stringently, and that does
come across in episode one. There are also some shades of the network’s
Hannibal (a beautiful, brilliant show that is the exception to the bad
adaptation rule) in the tone and style, though that comparison only
hurts TAKEN, as it doesn’t live up to that other work by any measure.
But what I’m saying is, while TAKEN isn’t good, it could be worse if
airing elsewhere.
The best thing that could happen to
TAKEN is a quick death. It doesn’t appear it’ll be one of the greats,
and the last thing we need is another mediocre series. A fair number of
people like the movies (not myself, but I know a few), so why not let
those stand on their own for what they are instead of tainting them with
a lackluster pseudo-prequel? It would be a mercy to the fans and
viewers in general for this to get yanked quickly.
TAKEN premieres tonight at 10/9c on NBC.
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