Nobody went to see "Taken" to see Liam Neeson's relationship with Maggie Grace but those scenes of him trying to be a dad (and basically failing) added to the rest of the movie. Would people still have liked seeing him kick ass without it? Yes. But the film is better with those scenes.

The "How Will They Do It" or "Will they get away?" elements might be enough for some members of the audience but I really don't see why it's such a crazy idea that adding some emotional heft to the characters (or given them personalities) could have made the film better.

It's just one of those films that I thought was intriguing but not entertaining and I can see why people would love it or hate it.