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'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano

September 3, 2018 · Taken (2008) · Action · Crime · Thriller · 1:11:13 · ▶ Listen on Spotify

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Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 43:47Jeff Bridges was originally cast as Bryan and dropped out because he didn't realize how physically demanding it would be, paving the way for Liam Neeson; Bill doubts it would have worked as well and notes Bridges would have had to learn the fighting like Neeson did.
Bill Simmons▶ 16:34Denzel Washington (in a 1996 Taken) or Tom Hanks instead of Liam Neeson — both would have the surprise element; Tom Cruise wouldn't work because it would feel like a careful, expected career choice
Shea Serrano▶ 44:19Called it a rare genuinely good casting what-if (unlike the usual 'Danny DeVito as Terminator' trivia) — 'Jeff Bridges could have pulled this off.'

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 28:38Brian shows up to Jean-Claude's house for dinner (the dinner scene where he shoots Jean-Claude's wife in the arm)
Shea Serrano▶ 24:32When Kimmy is about to get taken, all the way up until when Liam Neeson has to say 'they're going to take you'

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 37:00Liam Neeson's entire IMDb - how this role retroactively changed perception of all his previous work
Shea Serrano▶ 36:29Liam Neeson - how he became a whole different kind of actor and all his previous roles got retrofit as Brian Mills

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 38:38The U2 part - two teenage girls in 2008 lying to their parents to follow U2 around Europe feels unrealistic for that time period
Shea Serrano▶ 37:17Every foreigner is going to kidnap and kill your daughter and sell them into sex slavery - the xenophobic portrayal where every non-white, non-American character is horrible

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 44:43Presents five nominees: Marco (the good luck guy), Jean-Claude, Jean-Claude's wife, the sex slavery club manager, and the stereotypical fat sex hungry sheik at the end
Shea Serrano▶ 45:18The other guys at the table with Marco who all claim to be Marco and from Tripulia

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 46:50Jean-Claude (character from the movie whose real name he doesn't know)
Shea Serrano▶ 47:05Jean-Claude Van Damme — Jean-Claude (agrees he's the only 'that guy' actor since he makes multiple appearances)

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 55:09Brian kills 35 people in the movie
Shea Serrano▶ 55:04Asked how many people Brian kills in the movie (prompting the trivia question)

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 55:16Liam Neeson — Liam Neeson - became an action movie star in his mid-50s despite having won an Oscar earlier; also Maggie Grace and Albanian sex traffickers
Shea Serrano▶ 55:54Maggie Grace — Agrees with Maggie Grace - she'll forever be known as 'the daughter from Taken'

Best Quote

Bill Simmons▶ 1:02:04Now's not the time for dick measuring, Stuart.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:05:39Did Kimmy learn her lesson and trust her dad after this? Yes, she's 100% in now and it was worth it for Liam Neeson despite 35 people dying. Do sex slavery auction clubs exist as portrayed? No, the elaborate cocktail party auction setup is absolutely ridiculous - it's probably just pictures that scumbags flip through.
Shea Serrano▶ 1:04:18Kimmy definitely trusted her dad after this, as seen in later Taken movies. Sex slavery operations exist up to a point but not the red button auction setup. The movie works because it drops you into a world without over-explaining, like John Wick.

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:06:28Liam Neeson — the 'only one winner' who wins the movie and wins action movies; never named inside the block, but the referent resolves to Neeson, whom Bill had just framed as the movie's winner ('kind of a win for him... it got to the right place for Liam Neeson')

Movies Referenced (26)

John Wick (2014)

18 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 4:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Taken 2 (2012)

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 42:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Alive (1993)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 58:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Schindler's List (1993)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 12:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Taken 3 (2014)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 41:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Under Siege (1992)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 5:19IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Con Air (1997)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 6:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

First Blood (1982)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 10:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Love Actually (2003)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 13:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Training Day (2001)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 45:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

1 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 31:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

1 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 1:07:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (3)

Woody Allen

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Annie Hall, Manhattan, Deconstructing Harry▶ 11:43IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mel Gibson

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Braveheart, Conspiracy Theory▶ 1:09:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dead or Alive

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The A-Team▶ 58:32IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (29)

Liam Neeson

44 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Schindler's List, The Grey▶ 4:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jeff Bridges

7 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons · Known for The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, True Grit▶ 43:59IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Arnold Schwarzenegger

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator▶ 3:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Willis

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for Die Hard, Pulp Fiction▶ 5:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Laramie Cooley

3 mentions · Shea Serrano, Bill Simmons · Known for Transcendence, Hell or High Water▶ 39:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Cruise

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Top Gun, Mission: Impossible II, Minority Report▶ 16:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Halle Berry

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Die Another Day▶ 18:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Jason Statham

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Crank, Furious 7, The Meg▶ 6:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Maggie Grace

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Taken▶ 54:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Steven Seagal

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Under Siege 2: Dark Territory▶ 3:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Hanks

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Cast Away, Big, Forrest Gump▶ 16:42IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vin Diesel

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for The Fast and the Furious, Guardians of the Galaxy▶ 6:36IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (1)

Roger Ebert

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 2:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Erik Bassan

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 37:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗