But alas, sensitive guys have replaced muscular brutes on the big screen, and through the use of rapid-cut editing and CGI inventions, the boyish Matt Damons and the stern-looking Micholas Cages have replaced our one-dimensional action heroes.

These films give us twisting plots, adrenaline-rushing thrills and perfectly timed and executed action-packed scenes. We suspect their creators' primary objective is to bring home the gold come award season.

The pre-release hype and advertising guarantees they will be box-office hits on opening weekend.

However, we still find ourselves escaping to their lower-ranking counterparts for the simple purpose of uncomplicated fun, watching our muscular hero blow up buildings single-handedly. These are the films that fill that late-night slot on TV or were watched in the good old days of Layar Emas (Gold Screen), on TV station RCTI back in the 1990s.

With this in mind, it is easy to understand why we warmly welcome Taken, with its limited screening, to our cinemas.

The plot is as simple as a children's adventure book: Bryan (Liam Neeson, with his impressive fighting as seen in Batman Begins, 2005) is an ex-CIA agent who moves to Los Angeles to be near his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace of TV series Lost fame).

Kim lives with her mother Lenore (Famke Janssen) who is estranged from Bryan after their divorce. When Kim travels to Paris with her cousin Amanda (Katie Cassidy), they fall victim to a woman-trafficking syndicate, which leaves Bryan with no other choice but to return to his well-honed skills learned from his former profession. Adding to the suspense, he has only 96 hours to save his daughter, and that includes eliminating endless bad guys all by himself.

Written and produced by French action (almost) auteur Luc Besson, a prolific director who is known primarily for The Fifth Element, and directed by Pierre Morel whose involvement in many action films includes director of photography in Transporter, the film challenges the duo to come up with action-packed and heart-pounding scenes, while resisting the urge to push the envelope.

The restraint pays off. In addition to being a sleek and subsequently classy production, the film takes its time in building its story. No violent flashbacks are present in the early scenes, and no nightmares haunt our leading man.

Instead, Morel slowly unfolds his story at a pace that draws us closer to Bryan, revealing the superb acting skill we've come to expect from Neeson, who convincingly delivers lackluster lines such as, "I will kill you". Neeson's forceful and believably fierce persona reveals his anger at the crime, causing the audience to root for him, thus creating a bond between the audience and their hero -- a significant achievement for any action filmmaker.

Of course, the reasons we clench our fists and support Neeson's Bryan primarily stem from the action scenes. Two scenes in particular demonstrate Besson's and Morel's ability to captivate audiences. The first is the kidnapping in Paris; the second is the torture scene of Bryan and an enemy in a dimly lit room -- a scene where Morel straddles the boundaries of decency which causes us to question his earlier stated intention of restraint.

However, in the name of thrill-seeking fun, questioning such minor inconsistencies is unnecessary. Watching the film with audiences who were commenting, cheering and sometimes applauding whenever Bryan mercilessly killed a bad guy or participated in a high-speed car chase was pure, mindless fun.

This film succeeds in delivering solid, action-packed entertainment.

Taken is currently playing at Blitz Megaplex. The film is in English and French with Indonesian subtitles.

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