Every once in a while it’s just primal to want to see a movie where you already know the outcome. It’s the setup and the execution (major pun intended for this flick) that makes the journey more fun than the conclusion.

I imagine that’s why as respected an actor as Liam Neeson might take on such a role. Also it’s because it’s surprising to see Neeson playing such a character. Remember what a great setup the movie “Ransom” was? Mel Gibson turned the tables on his son’s capture, and the end was a sweet victory. Here Neeson gets to turn the tables on his adversaries — but with far more brutal results.

Neeson plays former government operative Bryan Mills, who wants to spend more time with his teenage daughter (actress Maggie Grace). He ‘retires’ to the Los Angeles area where she lives in order to be close by and to pick up a few side jobs. Kim lives with her mom (Famke Janssen) and new well-off stepdad (Xander Berkeley). The movie spends a little too much time on the setup, but it gives us an opportunity to feel for Bryan’s plight and his wanting to connect again with his daughter. The chemistry between Neeson and Grace is very believable, and you get a hint at just how close that bond is and what he will do to protect her.

What has to be every parent’s nightmare unfolds when his daughter is kidnapped while on vacation in Europe. It’s then that we discover what special talents Bryan acquired in the employment of the U.S. government. And oh baby are his daughter’s captors wishing they hadn’t abducted her. It’s not just Kim and her friend Amanda (actress Katie Cassidy) they’ve kidnapped, but other young women as well. They’re part of a prostitution ring that preys on unsuspecting girls. Once we’re familiar with their organization, we don’t care what happens to them because it’s not just his daughter he is trying to find but others as well.

“Taken” is familiar territory for director Pierre Morel and screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Karmen. Morel’s 2004 French breakout, “Banlieue 13” (“District 13,” also with Besson) was pretty intense in showing the underbelly of Paris. With “Taken” he continues to show that same seedy side, but this time in the English language. The action makes up for what’s pretty predictable plotwise.

I have to confess to enjoying the action sequences, especially the chase scenes — and just how pissed Neeson can get. I haven’t seen him this bent on revenge since he wreaked havoc in “Darkman” (1990), which for me still ranks as one of his best roles since before he got to be really famous.

'Taken' (3.5 out of 5 bagels) Rating: PG-13 “Taken” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language with a running time of 94 minutes.