Julie Takes Liam's Place
Having raised Sophie (Naomi Battrick) single handedly, after the death of her husband, New York detective Stevie Parker (Julie Benz - Held Hostage) finds herself having to let go when Sophie wishes to spend summer in Russia with her friend, the daughter of a diplomat. Having drilled Sophie on how to stay safe it ends up not being enough as she ends up being kidnapped and sold in to a Moscow based sex slave ring. When Stevie receives a strange call from Sophie's cell phone she knows something is not right and heads on the first plane to Russia to find her daughter even it means rubbing the Moscow police up the wrong way in the process.
Anything Liam Neeson can do Julie Benz can do to as whilst "Taken: The Search for Sophie Parker" is not part of the "Taken" movie franchise it could quite easily fit in with a very similar storyline. As such "Taken: The Search for Sophie Parker" does not need a great deal of explanation as we have the widowed Stevie dealing with a long rumbling relationship/friendship thing she has with a colleague in New York who would love it to become more. We also have her daughter going to Russia with her friend and staying with her friend's diplomat father. And then we have her kidnapping which lets be honest isn't a huge surprise as if you have seen "Taken" this is extremely derivative and telegraphs what will happen with some opening information about abductions and the number of people who go missing in to sex slave rings each year.
The difference between "Taken: The Search for Sophie Parker" and "Taken" comes down to its agenda and here is a movie where pretty much every man is useless and we have Julie Benz as the hero, doing what ever it takes to find her daughter. And do you know what I don't mind that as Julie Benz works the role well when you remember this is first a made for TV movie and secondly one which seems to be aimed at a female audience.
What this all boils down to is that "Taken: The Search for Sophie Parker" is nothing more than a TV movie version of "Taken" with a female lead and as such some people will find it woefully derivative. But if you are a fan of either TV movies or Julie Benz it is an okay movie even if it is still derivative.