A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 2 nominations
- Anton
- (as Rasha Bukvic)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLiam Neeson expected the film to bomb, but he signed on in order spend four months in Paris and learn karate, while playing the kind of role he had rarely been offered in the past. Ironically, not only was the film a massive hit, but created a new on-screen image for Neeson as an action hero.
- GoofsWhen Bryan is chasing the sheikh's barge along the Seine in his car, he appears to be traveling at high rate of speed alongside the barge. The barge would likely be traveling around 5 knots, about the speed of a light jog. The speed limit for boats on the Seine is 15 knots, (about 17 mph), so even if the boat could somehow travel at the maximum speed for the river (which would be impossible for a boat like that), it would still be at a crawl for a car.
He wasn't driving alongside the barge, like a race. The barge was well ahead of him. He was speeding through traffic to catch up and get ahead far enough to jump off a bridge.
- Quotes
Bryan Mills: [talking to Marko on the phone] I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.
Marko: [after a long pause] Good luck.
[hangs up his end of the phone]
- Alternate versionsSome of the shoot outs, the torture scene and some fisticuffs have been shortened in length for the film's US release to secure a PG-13 rating. The run time difference to the international version is about three minutes.
I was not disappointed... I'm not sure if this was intentional but there were no trailers before the movie, so being thrown strait into the film unexpectedly with people whispering "is this it then ?" only helping build up some initial tension and excitement.
The film starts nicely, but with overtones of spy thrillers like "Day of the Jackal" coming to mind. Neeson seems a bit pityful at the start, but soon overturns that impression with a taste of his handywork after around ten minutes of the thriller.
Then, before you know it, it's over. 93 minutes, gone in a blur of fighting, fear, chasing and excitement at serious pace. The artwork and direction is nicely done, giving you the feeling of being the one attacking and the chair squirming feeling of being the poor gits who get annihilated in almost every way possible.
It was one of those films that I wanted to applause after the film, I actually clapped about three times, but no-one joined in... too afraid of being the only two people clapping I suppose...
Neeson was great, and I can't wait to see the movie many more times. I only gave it 9 out of 10, as it was too short ! The film could have been easily stretched to 2 hours in my opinion, with some more development and intimacy with the characters. But I guess this may have not made it so exciting... still, well worth the money to see this in the big screen.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Búsqueda implacable
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $145,000,989
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $24,717,037
- Feb 1, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $226,837,760
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1