There might not be a more memorable line than “But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.” That’s Liam Neeson’s most famous, or potentially infamous, line in the first “Taken” movie. It’s a line that’s inspired all manner of memes and jokes, and it’s probably convinced more than a few people to give the movie a try. We’ve taken all three “Taken” movies and picked out our top five gun choices. It’s hard to narrow it down, be we gave it our best shot.
Beretta 92FS
In the first movie of the “Taken” trilogy, a Beretta 92FS makes an unsurprising appearance. Liam Neeson’s character, Bryan Mills, takes a Beretta 92FS off a trafficker. This happens when he manages to track down the Albanian selling women as sex slaves and yes, he uses it to take out a lot of bad guys. In fact, he utilizes the pistol for a big chunk of the first movie.
The Beretta 92FS is a full-sized handgun with an overall size that outdoes many handguns. It’s a double action/single action chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum with a steel frame that definitely helps offset felt recoil and muzzle rise. This is a gun that owes a big portion of its claim to fame to its use by the United States Military, but it’s also a well-made, accurate gun in general. It’s a gun of Italian origin with a 4.9-inch barrel and an overall empty weight of 33.3 ounces. It really is a solidly made pistol and, in all seriousness, has enough heft to double as a bludgeon.
Springfield Armory TRP Operator
Liam Neeson’s character might use 9mm quite a bit in the first “Taken”, but by the third movie, he’s seen using other guns, including a .45 ACP. The Springfield Armory TRP Operator is taken by Neeson’s character from a Russian bad guy and used during what just might be the highest-action portion of the movie. It’s a somewhat interesting choice for a thug, but then again it does fit the trilogy’s habit of using larger handguns. Movie enthusiasts who also love guns note it seems likely this is the same handgun used by Scarlett Johansson in the movie “Lucy,” and it’s certainly possible.
The Springfield Armory TRP (Tactical Response Pistol) Operator is chambered in .45 ACP and has a five-inch barrel. It is, of course, a 1911 platform pistol with all the expected features of a 1911. The gun has a Picatinny accessory rail ahead of the trigger guard, which isn’t utilized in the movie but is still useful, and a full-length guide rod. Features of the Springfield Armory TRP Operator include an ambidextrous safety, G10 grips, and a forged carbon steel slide. It’s definitely worth mentioning that this pistol’s 45-ounce empty weight makes it heavier than the aforementioned Beretta 92FS.
FN SCAR-L STD
Some see the FN SCAR as the Ugg-boot stock gun, but in reality, it’s an accurate, well-made rifle. In “Taken 3” the FN SCAR-L STD is shown being used by Oleg, who is the consummate bad guy. This is the rifle used against Liam Neeson’s character during the apartment shootout mentioned above, the one where Neeson takes a Springfield Armory TRP Operator off a thug. As you can see, Oleg is left-handed and seems to have spare magazines for his FN SCAR.
The FN SCAR-L STD is chambered in 5.56 NATO and is made with either a 10 or 14.5-inch barrel. The shape of its stock makes it pretty distinctive. It has a full-length Picatinny rail that’s great for all manner of optics and lights and also has a forward accessory rail for things like forward grips. If you’ve never fired an FN SCAR, you really should, because these are exceptionally nicely made rifles. Accurate, too. In the end that didn’t really help Oleg, but at least he tried.
Taurus PT92AF
Considering it’s run in proximity with a series of higher-priced guns, it might be a little surprising to see the Taurus PT92AF show up in “Taken 2.” The pistol appears twice, one showing is intentional, and the other time might have been an error of sorts. There’s a thug after Kim, who plays Neeson’s daughter, and he has a Taurus PT92AF. Then there’s another scene where Neeson has the Beretta 92FS and it magically becomes the Taurus. Although we can’t definitively say that was a mistake, it does seem pretty likely.
The Taurus PT92AF is a double-stack that was manufactured chambered in a few calibers. It seems most likely the 9x19mm Parabellum was what they used in “Taken 2,” but it’s possible it was one of the others (40 Smith & Wesson, 380 ACP, 32 Auto). This full-sized handgun has a five-inch barrel and an empty weight of around 34 ounces. According to various sources, the Taurus PT92AF was designed as a replacement for the Beretta 92 when that gun was no longer being made. It does have some similar aesthetics, but that still doesn’t excuse them swapping out a Beretta 92FS for this gun in “Taken 2,” we’re just saying.
SIG Sauer P226
The SIG Sauer P226 is shown in the very first “Taken” movie. The gun used is a two-tone model with a silver slide, so it does stand out. As usual, Neeson takes this gun away from a bad guy and proceeds to use it against bad guys until he runs out of ammo. It’s a good thing there’s an endless supply of surprisingly reliable handguns in all three movies, because without those Liam Neeson probably wouldn’t make it.
This is another 9x19mm Parabellum, and also another full-sized handgun. The P226 has a 4.4-inch barrel and an average empty weight of 34 ounces. Yes, bigger handguns seem to be rather popular in this trilogy. This particular pistol has a forward accessory rail for lights and lasers, a rather recognizable palm swell in the grip, and a squared-off trigger guard. Those features seem to be rather common on handguns in the “Taken” movies which could be a total coincidence or might be because the director thinks they look more tactical. Regardless of the reasoning behind the models selected, Liam Neeson’s character uses every gun he grabs flawlessly and also displays ambidextrous skills.
What guns do you think we should have included? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
