Taken Quotes
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Source: Taken
Speaker: Bryan Mills
"What I do have is a particular set of skills."
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom I can tell you I don't have money, 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. If you let my daughter go now that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you.
Context
This line is spoken by Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson, in the film Taken, directed by Pierre Morel (2008).
With one phone call, Liam Neeson's Bryan Mills became one of the greatest movie tough guys of all time. Taken starts out as a retired-CIA operative awkwardly tries to connect with his estranged daughter and protect pop stars, but it ends up with Bryan Mills brutally taking out an entire European human trafficking ring all by his lonesome.
This speech to his daughters' kidnappers shows that Bryan isn't some tortured, angsty action hero. No, Bryan is supremely confident that he will save his daughter even if he has to leave a trail of bodies across Europe. He has some real issues with violence and would be classified as insane if he didn't only exist in an over the top action movie.
Where you've heard it
This is definitely a line that gets thrown around when you're talking about the coolest movie lines. Plus you can use it jokingly around your friends when you're trying to be tough, but aren't really.
Additional Notable References:
- Family Guy parodied this speech with Peter Griffin bemoaning his lack of "special skills." Oh well, not all dads can kill men with their bare hands.
- If you've ever thought that this speech sounds like it was written by William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, or even Dr. Seuss, this article is for you.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
This is a great line to use jokingly, especially if your special skills are procrastinating on the Internet, taking five-hour naps, or being able to recite all three Taken movies from memory.