Rating: 
Summary: I was Taken by surprise
Review: Steven Spielberg's was both interesting and worth while. Hearing stories my grandpa told me about being in the army at the time of WW2 during the Roswell crash, i took an intrest in hearing other stories on the alien encounter. Anything Sci-Fi is always a good hobby and it keeps you thinking. but i didn't know is how all the other stuff in the show came into play. Half the time it had nothing to do with sci-fi or aliens. I definately recommend the book, it too is equally interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn. Is it Over Yet?
Review: Taken (aka T-person-ken) is a fairly lengthy sci-fi miniseries which originally aired on the Sci-Fi channel. Besides being about alien abduction, it carries the imprimatur of Stephen Spielberg! What could be better? Unfortunately, the series suffers from one fatal flaw: NOTHING EVER HAPPENS! Thats right, after dutifully punching in night after night, waiting for the good stuff to kick in, the series finally ends leaving the viewer with nothing but occasional glimpses of interesting alien stuff. On the upside, Matt Frewer is pretty good in this series. (Oh I just remembered, Matt Frewer's good performance was exactly cancelled out by the chick from "The Blair Witch Project", so never mind.)
Rating: 
Summary: Pathos and the great unknown
Review: While I agree that some of this series does indeed drag on unnecessarily, I disagree on a good number of points. "Drama," as some have wrongly labeled as a detriment to storytelling, is the very core of any strong narrative. TAKEN delivers on that account. It never pretended to be anything else than (and I use this now ubiquitous term only because it actually applies here) a humanized epic. It IS a true epic: the prolonged story of many characters over a vast landscape that attempt to overcome multiple conflicts underlined by a recurrent thematic unity. For those who want interaction between extraterrestrials and human I might suggest watching other bubble-gum fictions. The aliens are inconsequential in the true story of TAKEN. As I see it, the real narrative lies in how three separate families deal with the turmoil of their inexorably intertwined lives and the tumultuous results of their actions. To that end, the filmmakers have done a credible job of melding elements from THE KENTUCKY CYCLE, THE ODYSSEY, THE X-FILES and countless other familiar works to create an insightful and entertaining mini-series. While I will agree that some of the episodes in the later part of the series do stray some, they do have their place in the story and reinforce the thematic elements being explored. Nevertheless, this tendency run aground of an otherwise sound course prevents me from giving my highest accolades and can only summon 4 stars. Don't get me wrong; I firmly believe that TAKEN fully deserved the awards it received and I look forward to repeated viewings and delving further into what the filmmakers are saying.
Rating:
Summary: A magnum opus!
Review: Here is a story of such breadth and scope it is likely to disappoint some. Cheers still deserve to be awarded to this miniseries for attempting to encompass more than staid UFO abduction story drizzled with government conspiracies. Yes, both of these elements are included in the series, but when packaged with multigenerational character arcs, impressive special effects, and slight twists on the expected elements of alien stories, the result is a riveting story. Oh, and stay away from the novelization. It's juvenile and contrived.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This is what the mini-series was created for...to tell an epic story! TAKEN is really well done: intricately plotted, well-written and directed and wonderfully acted. Clearly people who don't read novels or have short attention spans might have some problems (see some of these other reviewers...sheesh) with the scope of the story, but it is well worth watching. An amazing job, I doubt we will see its like again anytime soon! Bravo Spielberg and Co.
Rating:
Summary: boring and pretentious
Review: As big fan of the space and alien genre, I eargerly awaited the telecast of the movie when it premiered on the SCI FI channel.
I was disappointed. I think the screenwriters attempted to make the movie "deep and complex." There was too much "drama" and not enough time given to the actual interaction between the alien and his terrestial counterpart. However, if one enjoys deducting and comtemplating the "message and cultural significance" of movies,then this one is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Starts strong, ends with a wimper
Review: I watched the entire series on SciFi when it originally came on. It started very strongly with the WWII setting and on into the 50's. From there, however, it went downhill. I liked the early characters, and I liked the idea of tracing the families throughout the years. After the beginning, however, it went downhill. The later characters are not as sympathetic, and the ending is completely anti-climactical. Nothing is explained, and nothing is settled. Some may say that this is to provoke thought...I say it's bad story telling. I believe that the only reason that this series won awards is because of the name behind it. That, or a lack of competition in the mini series category.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!!
Review: i don't know about other people, but i found "taken" increadable!! hot dog!!! where to start? the acting was great! cheers to jeese, jacob, and allie especially!!! the script was awesome...literally the sum of awe! allie's voice-over monologues were truly a stroke of pure genius!!! i cannot wait to but this and watch it over, and over, and then some more!!! i highly recommend watching this miniseries!!! go "taken"!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Well done, but not for everyone
Review: I enthusiastically enjoyed every moment I was able to watch the series, wondering at the sources for the content, and appreciative of the pains taken to make the presentation as realistic as possible. However, it is not the pure E N T E R T A I N M E N T that so many people are accustom to and need from TV. It's meant to be thought provoking and participatory. I knew I'd be buying a disc set before the end of the 1st episode. I bellieve it is a new watermark in SciFi history.
Rating: 
Summary: 15 hour mini-series that could have been told in 3
Review: I love stories that span generations. It provides so much opportunity to evolve the characters and the plot. With 15 hours (ten 90 minute episodes roughly) to tell the story, I had high hopes of a truly epic and meaningful story. Taken was neither epic nor meaningful. Every episode, I kept waiting for something to move the plot forward, or change the characters in some significant way (these are the precepts of good story telling, that and a challenge to overcome). At the end of most episodes, I came away feeling disappointed. There was no plot. Everyone was a victim or a bad guy. No heros, no one to root for, no one you could feel good about. The challenge in this story was for the abductees to stay out of the clutches of the "evil government organization", and for everyone to try and figure out what the aliens were up to. Normally, you expect the hero to prevail. But, there was no hero, and nobody prevailed. In fact, everyone's situation just got worse. Several characters were victims of their own evil ways, and the rest were just victims. In this respect, Taken is a tragedy, and the only light at the end of 50 years of people doing bad things to each other is the little girl who finally explains what it's all about. A barely profound 10 minutes of revelation after 15 hours of poor setup for such a simple climax. It might have worked if they forced themselves to tell the story in 3-4 hours. At least then, you could get the same experience without having to wade through so much otherwise useless drama. I suppose seeing the totally disparate reviews on Taken (here and elsewhere) just points out how many different perspectives there are for good story telling and good sci-fi. I guess I should accept that for many people, alien abduction stories, no matter how badly produced, are always a hit. For such people, Taken provides 15 hours of what you probably like most. A few people have likened Taken to a soap opera. Perhaps that's the appeal I'm missing as well. If you want 15 hours of an alien oriented "Days of Our Lives." Buy the DVD. If you want good story telling, with interesting characters that evolve, a plot that moves and something you'll likely watch again and again, don't buy Taken. In my opinion, this mini-series should have been called "Took." That's how I felt after seeing it on TV. Especially considering what the SciFi channel canceled in order to push this mini series on us. If you must, catch it on the SciFi channel the next time it comes around. With so many other excellent choices on DVD, don't waste your money to buy Taken.
|
