Rating: 
Summary: Bashful's DVD Summary #038
Review: Best:1) The story outline is very cool and has a full-circle feel. It involves 3 generations of 3 families - one victims of the aliens, one part of the aliens and one hunting the aliens.
2) The acting was good, especially that of the little girl (played by Dakota Fanning). She is possibly the best child actor I've ever seen and it's clear why she was chosen to be the centerpiece.
3) The series had a generally epic feel, showing the passing of time convincingly. (It does, however, take the first 4 episodes to really get you hooked).
4) The special-effects were often comparable to big-budget theater movies. Worst: 1) The special features were pretty scant - a few behind-the-scenes shows that average 5-10 minutes in length. The problem with them is that they were basically self-congratulatory and provided little interesting information.
2) They didn't really take the UFO subject to a new level as promised. It ended up being a long soap opera with dashes of supernatural, like a watered-down episode of "The X-Files" that just goes on and on.
3) The ending and, ultimately, the meaning to the whole series ended up being ambiguous. I KNEW they were going to cop out like that and not answer any questions - and they didn't. Recommendation: If you pay the full retail price for this 10-hour mini-series, you'll feel like the one being "Taken" (couldn't resist the pun). Get it used for half-price or less if you can't rent it. Soap opera fans will probably like it, but hardcore sci-fi fans may be disappointed if they're expecting anything new.
Rating: 
Summary: SCI-FI= Equals Bad Movies.
Review: If you watch enough of that cable station, then you know that all they really show are low budget Roger Corman type creature features, or X-Files like docu-dramas, or pilots of Universal sci-fi shows that did not make it on TV, and that's it. What made Spielberg think he could turn things around by giving us this 12 hour informerical of cgi effects and no script? Maybe nothing and Nothing is all we have here now. There is no such thing as good science fiction on anymore either on TV or at the movies, cable networks like this, and over-rated trash films like the Matrix has killed the ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: An absolutely brilliant sci-fi series
Review: Steven Spielberg's "Taken" is one of the most ambitious and successful miniseries ever filmed. While those expecting a special effects/action extravaganza might be disappointed, the viewer looking for a human-based, character-driven, thought-provoking science fiction story will find the film extremely rewarding. It balances the different time periods in which the story takes place admirably, not in a gimmicky way a la "Forrest Gump," but more organically, as the times are used to comment on the main story, and vice versa. The most admirable feature of the film is how the three families with which the story is concerned, interweave and interact throughout the decades. If you pay close attention, each character in each generation corresponds symbolically to his or her father or mother. Without giving away too much, you will notice that one character reenacts her own mother's marrying the wrong man and having an extramarital affair, and another character kills her father just as her father killed his. And these are only two examples of how complexly written and thematically strong the series is, as the focus is on genetics and how each generation reflects upon and improves (or worsens) from the one before. Although many complain about the length, 20 hours is the perfect amount of time for us to really get inside these characters' heads. It would have cost the series both sweep and depth to have made it any shorter. It also contains some wonderful flights of fancy, such as when an alien lures a young boy onto a ship by making itself appear like a character from his favorite book. There isn't a weak episode among the bunch, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an intelligent science-fiction story that has thrills aplenty but knows that the true importance lies in the characters.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Overblown Abduction Epic
Review: I just finished my 15-hr investment in this sprawling multi-generational abduction epic. The series began strong - the early episodes taking us from 1944 through the late fifties were compelling. These episodes took the lore seriously, and stuck to the "facts" on which everyone agrees. The 15 hours starts feeling a bit excessive once we encounter the hybrids in the woods circa episode four. This entire episode feels like an overlong X-Files. The same can be said of the later episode in which the abduction support group is taken hostage. All in all, the series takes a nosedive in episode four, recovers a little, then once we reach the present day, time is manipulated so that we feel as if we are watching a story unfold in Super Slo-Mo. Dakota Fanning is awesome as Allie. She is one adorable and talented little girl. Heather Donahue is especially annoying as the power-corrupted bitch. She has an oddness about her which is distracting, and the quivering Blair Witch nostrils make several appearances. Matt Frewer, conversely, has an oddness about him that plays just perfectly. He is very good in this. The dude who plays the adult Tom Clarke is also very good. At some point during an alien agenda story, the writer is forced to leave the safety of the known facts and launch into theory which becomes the payoff of his story, since the real-life abduction saga offers no such thing as yet. I can't really say that writer, Leslie Boehm took the safe road, because he did offer explanations, and he did close the story. I was disappointed in the Spielberg tendency towards spectacle, especally in the grand finale. I prefer a sci fi tale which can conclude with the general populace being none the wiser. Spielberg consistantly pushes his conclusions towards the awakening of mankind to a greater consciousness, which always to me feels overblown. I recommend this series to the diehard UFO fanatic, but I doubt the casual fan should invest this much time into the epic when a nice plot synopsis would do.
Rating:
Summary: A Sci-Fi Orginal!
Review: This movie is a joke. It's so mushy and laced with bad acting that it hurts to watch. Taken, is the story of three families, all of which have been snatched up by the "greys" that appear in UFO/abductie lore, a theme that has been rehashed so many times it's about as entertaining as watching a dogpile gather flies. To be frank, I haven't winced this much while watching a sci-fi flick since the film, Creature. The corny lines and bland script will neither catch your attention nor make you wonder. If you are expecting X-Files quality, look elsewhere. I am convinced this show only flew for the same reason some of the pathetic films based on Stephen King's books have been well-accepted: there is a popular, well-known name behind the series.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Sci Fi action freaks
Review: This is that kind of profound Sci Fi I like. I always thought that the standard film format of 90-120 minutes is not enough to present most of the themes I am interested in - like Science Fiction. The sickness of most films today is that the studios put too much action in it and let the stories and characters stay very superficial - they think thats what the crowd wants, but most people I know are critizising exactly that. (Its not the first time hollywood misunderstands viewer studies and ratings). So, this movie serie has a lot of wonderful quiet moments. It has action too but only where it belongs to the story. Action freaks may be disappointed, this is an emotional thought-related view of the UFO mystery. They took all the great known UFO incidents (rumors) and tried to get them into one whole story. So, who knows, its possible that this is the truth behind everything... I see people giving bad notes about this movie mainly for two reasons that they missunderstand: 1: "Its bad storytelling because in the end it solves nothing"
The story of this movie tries to stay nearby reality, and, folks, thats the nature of our existence that the universe is full of questions and answers that only take you to new questions. Its realism. To critisize the open questions at the end only means that the spectator misinterpreted Taken as a fantasy-film. 2: "There is nothing new on Taken"
Taken bases on rumors that we all know. Whats new on taken is the point of view, the insight into this 3 families and theory how all the rumors may connect together. Whats not new, and can and should not be new, is all the alien stuff, of course when you try to do something "nearby documentary" you can not invent new stuff to it. So I am completely happy with Taken and I enjoyed every minute watching!
Rating:
Summary: You'll Be Taken Away! (Minor Spoilers!)
Review: An amazing work, an amazing miniseries, this is something you won't regret watching. Although the first episode, "Beyond the Sky," is a bit slow moving, it sets up the foundation for an epic miniseries. The characters here are the core of the story, and you'll love (or dislike, in some cases) many of them, especially Allie, whom you hear throughout but only see for the last few episodes. It's not totally sci-fi, more like an epic drama set through 50 years of history, with sci-fi mixed throughout. In other words, even non-sci-fi fans can enjoy this great work!
Rating: 
Summary: It had potential...
Review: At the start, this ten-part miniseries showed promise especially with the Spielberg name attached to the title. Unfortunately it wasn't long before promise faded leaving behind about 13 hours (without commercials) of boredom which offered nothing new in terms of storylines or ideas regarding the 'alien abduction' theme. Perhaps "Stephen Spielberg Presents Taken" wouldn't have been so dull had it been reduced to 7.5 hours (or less) instead of the final 14.75 hour product. It seems as though the miniseries was flushed out to fit the original two-week scheduled run and to make room for all of the commercial advertisement spots. Throughout the two-week run I was optimistic that the story would get better and that the pace would increase. When the credits began rolling at the end of part 10, I realized that I had been mistaken. I also realized that I had wasted 20 hours of my young life on this miniseries. In short, I had been taken.
Rating:
Summary: Flat with redeeming features.
Review: I must commence by saying I am not a fan of science fiction (rather, I deal with much, much darker, more gothic pieces), Mr. Spielberg, or originally any of the actors in the series. Taken caught my eye for reasons I do not fully understand. What is even more confusing is that through the only moderately interesting first half of the series, I continued watching until something truly caught my eye.. There are many reviewers who have extolled the virtues of Dakota Fanning and her portrayal of Allie -- many of whom seem to be unable to remove their fingers from the exclamation point key. However, I'm certain I'm not the only one who found her irritating and a pathetic excuse for "philosophical". The narrative insights peppered throughout the episodes were dull and obvious to anyone who has spent longer than ten minutes thinking about philosophy. I agree that Dakota Fanning did an excellent job of acting an extremely flat character. In fact, all of the characters seemed to be flat (I use flat as a literary term, wherein the character has only one feature that drives them). The Keys family was passionately violent, the Clarke family was empathetic and emotional, most of the Crawfords were ambitious. There was nothing in either the development or existence of the characters which has not already been cliched to death or was brutally obvious. The acting was mostly embarrassing to otherwise quite good actors. Emily Bergl, for example, who was brilliant in The Rage, spent her screen time in this piece whining about finding her daughter. That said, there were two characters who either seem to be overlooked or spat on, and I am speaking of Mary Crawford and Chet Wakeman. Mary was one of the most complex characters I have come across in any form of media (excluding literature), and Chet was not far behind. Their relationship was an exquisite homage to the darkness of the show -- which was not as accentuated as it should have been. I am aware that many people found the age difference appalling, but this is such a minor factor in today's society that it surprises me to see most peoples' reactions. I was even more surprised to find an aspect of Taken to appeal to my inherent dark side -- but the relationship between Chet and Mary did an astounding job of that. Entwining the two unbelievably complex characters into a romantic and yet equally complicated relationship was one of the most intelligent things done in this series. When I watch television or movies, I watch them for the characters and the themes, connections, and meanings behind the blatant mainstream. Taken did not provide me with anything interesting to consider until Chet and Mary appeared. Science fiction and soap opera fans who enjoy cliches will love Taken for its interestingly overdone alien abduction and familial plotlines. Those who enjoy looking a bit further beneath the surface will be pleased to find the complication and intrigue of the Crawford family, and the completely untypical relationship between Mary and Chet.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Series
Review: I really enjoyed Taken. When it appeared on the Sci-Fi channel I couldn't wait for the next episode. If you are a fan of realistic and good sci-fi films then this is for you!
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