Bryan Mills, a former government operative, is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter Kim. After reluctantly agreeing with his ex-wife to let Kim go to Paris on vacation with a friend, his worst nightmare comes true. While on the phone with his daughter shortly after she arrives in Paris, she and her friend are abducted by a gang of human traffickers. Working against the clock, Bryan relies on his extensive training and skills to track down the ruthless gang that abducted her and launch a one-man war to rescue his daughter.
"Taken" tells the story of Bryan, a retired spy, whose daughter Kim is kidnapped while on vacation in Paris. Bryan uses his special skills to find and rescue her. While watching, you can learn vocabulary related to travel, crime, and emotions like "kidnapped," "ransom," "negotiate," "scared," and "determined." The movie also has many action scenes, so you'll hear and see how English is used in tense and urgent situations. The movie explores themes of family, protection, and the dangers of the world. You'll see a range of emotions, from fear and desperation to courage and love, expressed in English. The language used is a mix of everyday conversation and more formal language used in negotiations and threats. This mix can help you understand different levels of formality in English and how tone of voice changes meaning. The fast-paced dialogue will challenge your listening skills, but the clear pronunciation of most characters makes it a good choice for learners. "Taken" is a useful movie for English learners because it's exciting and engaging, making learning more enjoyable. The dialogue is relatively straightforward, and the subtitles can help you follow along. The movie's popularity means you'll likely find online discussions and resources to help you understand it better. By watching "Taken," you can improve your vocabulary, listening comprehension, and understanding of English used in different situations.
Here are the first 15 of the more difficult words in Taken: