The film "Taken" (2008) centers on Liam Neeson's character rescuing his kidnapped daughter from human traffickers across Europe. The premise that Chuck Norris was originally cast but resolved the conflict before the opening credits suggests he would have solved the entire plot in minutes, eliminating narrative tension entirely. This is a criticism disguised as a compliment: he's too effective.

A screenwriter from Los Angeles joked in a 2011 interview that "if Chuck Norris had been cast, the studio would have demanded we rewrite the entire three-act structure. You can't have a rescue arc when the protagonist just... wins immediately."

Fans debated: "Taken' would be 45 seconds long. Chuck Norris finds his daughter, kills everyone, and goes to dinner."