2. Taken
Everybody reading this should be familiar with the gripping action-thriller Taken, starring Liam Neeson as a father hunting for the kidnappers of his daughter in Paris. But what is less well-known, is the fact that the immensely popular film and its sequel Taken 2 were written and produced by Luc Besson. After the huge success of The Fifth Element, Luc Besson was able to construct and launch his own production company, EuropaCorp. For the record-breaking Fifth Element, Besson had worked with Pierre-Ange le Pogam, who was then Distribution Director for French production company Gaumont. Le Pogam had come up with innovative promotional techniques for the marketing of The Fifth Element, including a $3million premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and the hiring of iconic fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier as costume designer for the film. Besson and le Pogam jointly set up EuropaCorp, and after financial successes with The Transporter, Hitman and Arthur & The Invisibles, they set about producing the 2009 Taken. The film went on to make $226million, making it one of the highest-grossing French films alongside The Fifth Element, and effectively re-launched Liam Neeson's acting career as an action-hero. Taken was not a critical success, but in terms of popular culture it has been recognized as an influential piece of cinema. The story was written by Luc Besson and features his notable stylistic values and visual cues. The action within the film, and the tense drama, are outstanding examples of the thriller genre. The influence of the story, though not specifically original to Taken, can be seen to be emulated in more recent productions, with the newly released Homefront appearing to play on the success of the family-man character of Liam Neeson.