Ransom 1996, Leon The Professional 1994, Taken 2008, Kill Bill Vol 2 2004, and Man On Fire 2004,
This one's for all the parents out there who love their kids so much that if ever put in a situation like this, they'll comeback swinging with a vengeance. This is epic, badass, poignant, intense, and exciting. Not to mention, this is one powerful evening. Watching someone's kid getting kidnapped is heartbreaking and makes you really feel for the parents in their frustration to find answers concerning their kids disappearance. There is no other way to lead into this story arc than with Ron Howard's Ransom. This film begins the whole theme of kidnapping with Mel Gibson playing a rich man whose son is kidnapped. He begins by corporating with the police but when realizing that the people holding his son hostage are not about honoring contracts, he begins to formulate his own tactic towards getting his son back. This is hands down one of Mel Gibson's finest performances and is a real shame that he didn't get an Oscar nom for his work. This is a powerful film that speaks to all parents who lost their children to kidnapping or abduction. The next film Leon The Professional, continues the kidnapping and revenge plot but takes a different approach towards it. In this film, the lead character is a professional assassin who rescues and protects a young girl played by Natalie Portman after her family gets killed by evil cops in a police raid. While doing so, the two form a relationship that is along the lines of father and daughter. This is an important subplot because it is used later on in Man on Fire between Denzel and Dakota Fanning, and Aliens with Ripley and Newt. The next film Taken, is essentially the story of a man who is fighting to get his family back after being divorced, and gets his opportunity when his daughter gets kidnapped while on vacation in Europe. It also helps that Liam Neeson's character is an ex CIA agent who relies on his special skills to rescue his estranged daughter from human traffickers. This was the movie that turned Liam Neeson into an action star, and proved that PG-13 action can be gritty, exciting, and deal with such a serious topic as human trafficking and kidnapping. The theme of the story is a father fights to get his daughter back at all costs, while at the same time showing his family that he will always be there for them. Man on Fire returns to the same style of kidnapping that Leon The Professional introduced. In that film, Denzel Washington plays a former assassin who swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he swore to protect. That act is the kidnapping of the families daughter played by Dakota Fanning. Man on Fire is much like Leon The Professional in the sense that both deal with assassins who swear to protect the people they come in contact with, both men formulate a relationship with a child that ultimately opens them up and makes them care. And in the end, it also means making the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the safety of the ones they fight for.
If there's any theme or message that will come out of tonight's marathon, it's the simple notion that when placed in a situation such as child abduction, kidnapping, or human trafficking, parents will always fight to protect those they love.
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