10 Best Revenge Movies Of All Time

Taken is the film that made Liam Neeson into an unlikely action hero and it also spawned a couple of sequels, although none were a match for the original. Although this seemed like a role tailor-made for a Schwarzenegger or a Stallone, Neeson seemed to morph into a character we had rarely seen him play, and do it so convincingly that he has since gone on to make numerous films as an '80s-style tough guy.

The premise is simple, Neeson's daughter is kidnapped by a gang of people traffickers, to be sold into sex slavery. Neeson is a retired CIA operative with 'a special set of skills', as he memorably tells the kidnappers in a phone call which has become a part of popular culture, used for ring tones and spoofs in numerous TV shows. Neeson's daughter is so irritating that it's hard not to feel she got what she deserved, but she is the most important thing in Neeson's life, leading to a relentless hunt for the perps.

The action is convincing and satisfying. Fight scenes do not overstay their welcome, and Neeson is appropriately hard-bitten and cold-blooded in doling out just desserts to a stream of, admittedly, almost comic book-like bad guys.