🎬 TAKEN 4 – Trailer Review (2025) | Daniel Craig, Gal Gadot
⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 – A slick new chapter with fresh faces, explosive set pieces, and the franchise’s signature intensity)
The first trailer for TAKEN 4 (2025) has dropped, and it looks like the high-stakes world of abductions, shadow agents, and brutal vengeance is back—with a vengeance. This time, Daniel Craig steps into the lead role, bringing a colder, more calculated edge to the franchise, while Gal Gadot adds glamour, grit, and lethal charm to a new kind of team-up thriller.
🎯 Plot Tease:
Craig plays Elias Rourke, a retired MI6 field operative whose daughter vanishes during a diplomatic mission in Istanbul. When local authorities fail to act, Elias unearths a sprawling human trafficking ring tied to international intelligence leaks—and quickly realizes this wasn’t random. Alongside him is Lina Mendez (Gadot), a cyber-intelligence expert with a personal stake in the mission and a murky past of her own.
What follows is a globe-spanning rescue mission through Istanbul, Berlin, and Marrakesh—with brutal fight scenes, double-crosses, and a rising body count. The trailer hints at a darker tone, shifting from the personal revenge of earlier Taken films to something more conspiratorial and high-tech.
💥 Trailer Highlights:
A train-station brawl choreographed like a dance of destruction
Craig interrogating a warlord with terrifying calm
Gadot executing a zero-gravity fight inside a private jet
The chilling line from Craig: “You took the wrong child. And now I’ll take everything.”
🎭 Performances:
Daniel Craig is perfectly cast—steely, emotionally restrained, and lethal. He brings the same weariness and bite he gave to Bond, but with a more paternal fire. Gal Gadot is a welcome addition: intelligent, fierce, and completely believable as a woman who can outfight and outthink her enemies.
🎬 Tone & Direction:
Directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), Taken 4 leans into espionage, with Bourne-style pacing, high-stakes technology, and grounded action. The camera work is fluid, the lighting is cool and gritty, and the trailer’s soundtrack—set to a slowed-down remix of “Paint It Black”—adds dramatic weight.
💬 Final Verdict:
Taken 4 looks like a smart evolution of the franchise—still brutal, still personal, but now more global and cerebral. With Craig and Gadot front and center, it promises a fresh dynamic, new emotional layers, and action that hits hard.
