Jonah, I too enjoyed Taken, which I saw largely on the basis of Peter Suderman’s recommendation. As for patriarchal porn, well, we both have daughters and that I’m sure that is a big part of our shared enjoyment of the movie.

You can watch the trailer here, though describing the film doesn’t exactly require a complicated synopsis [very mild spoilers]: Liam Neeson plays a retired CIA agent who’s daughter is abducted in Paris by a vicious gang of Albanian sex trafickers before eventually being sold to a wealthy Arab. Neeson flies to Paris, and in the process of finding and rescuing his daughter, rather ends up systematically killing just about everyone involved in his daughter’s kidnapping.

I enjoyed this film probably more than I should admit. It’s a gritty R-rated revenge flick, and unless you have a Y-Chromosome and/or a certain tolerance for film violence you won’t like it. Not that I necessarily enjoyed watching violence for its own sake; it took me a while to put my finger on why I enjoyed it.

Peter Suderman notes that the film works largely because Neeson elevates material that would otherwise be destined for Steven Segal, and that is very true. Neeson could probably bring an aura of gravitas and credibility to a remake of The Room. And while it’s far from a perfect film, it’s well-directed and at 94 minutes doesn’t overstay its welcome.

But ultimately, I think I enjoyed it because it’s the first film I’ve seen in ages where there was no post-modern moralizing about the violence or the motivations of the bad guys. While not all of Neeson’s character’s behavior is justifiable, the film’s operating assumption is simply that there are some levels of human depravity where violence is necessary to protect the innocent. Sadly, acknowledging that evil and human nature are intertwined is a refreshing change at the multi-plex these days.

Further, the film is about a CIA agent and there’s no discussion of blowback or metaphors about America’s secretly evil geopolitical motives. Even more remarkable, the film was written and directed by two Frenchmen. I’m not sure there’s an American writer or director left that won’t seize every opportunity to bash U.S. foreign policy, whether it’s germane to the story or not. (And the movie fingers French corruption for enabling the sex-trafickers.)

The disparity between the film’s critical reception and its success with audiences seems to bear out that the film might be on to something. The film recieved a very tepid 40 percent rating out of 100 from mainstream critics over at Rotten Tomatoes — but the film is already an undeniable hit and is currently a shockingly high 8.0 rating out of 10 at the fan voted Internet Movie Database. A sequel is already in the works.

Now heaven forbid anyone in Hollywood notice that straightforward action flicks that don’t demonize America are profitable.