16 Years Later, Liam Neeson's Best Action Movie Just Blew Up Hulu Top 10

The 11-year-old Liam Neeson came to the school drama studio because of a girl he liked, and until the age of 30 he considered acting a hobby, earning his living through physical labor. He had a better chance of becoming a professional athlete, but one day the right person saw his performance in an amateur theater.

Now 72 years old, Neeson is popular and in demand. The Irishman's film schedule is booked several years in advance. And both directors and audiences love him for the fact that no matter how frightening the character, the actor has softness, vulnerability and tenderness.

Taken Was Liam Neeson's Action Breakthrough

In 2008, Neeson, an actor who had focused on dramatic roles, unexpectedly reinvented himself as a killing machine and martial arts expert in the film Taken. Neeson electrifies the screen with a single line when he promises to find his daughter's kidnappers and take brutal revenge.

The actor was 54 when he grabbed a gun and started beating up Albanians – with animal cruelty, crunching bones and the help of electric current. The adrenaline-pumping action film set a standard: many of Neeson's characters later turned out to be retired military men whose children had been carelessly insulted or kidnapped.

The image of Bryan Mills – a savvy retired agent – is a fresh classic of the action movie, the incarnation of the cult characters of Schwarzenegger and Stallone for a new era.

And it's relevant now, as evidenced by the fact that Taken has unexpectedly made it into Hulu's top 10 most watched movies, and it's a perfect reason to get acquainted with the actor's best action film.

What Is Taken About?

Former government agent Bryan Mills lives alone, scraping by on his meager income, and the only joy in his life is his daughter Kim, who resents her father's overprotectiveness.

Not wanting to aggravate their strained relationship, Bryan reluctantly allows Kim to go to Paris. But her dream vacation turns into his worst nightmare when his daughter and her friend are kidnapped right from their hotel. Bryan has 96 hours to rescue Kim from sex slavery.

Taken Is Still Neeson's Best Movie in the Genre

Before the release of Taken, few people would have imagined that Neeson would be so convincing as an unstoppable and indestructible killing force, a kind of ruthless hand of retribution willing to do anything to achieve his goal.

But after Taken, he was invited to play similar roles en masse – and Liam, judging by his filmography, was not against it, so he was stuck in the same kind of action movies for a long time. Then he even had to make fun of himself in Cold Pursuit.

So if you've ever been interested in the Liam Neeson phenomenon in action movies but didn't know where to start, Taken is the perfect choice.