The danger of borrowing plot lines from one genre and translating them to another is that someone is going to notice - and usually not in a positive fashion. Practically everyone who has commented on "Missing" has noted the similarity to "Taken", as well as on the gender switch.
Gender switching like this is problematic for many reasons, imo.
It looks transparent ("ooh - I know! Let's have a petite, elfin woman play the role and no one will notice that it was originally played by a huge, hairy dude . . .")
It plays to reverse stereotype ("ooh - I know! Let's make sure that the petite, elfin woman has the ability to accurately fire a shoulder mounted missile whilst running down a cobblestone street in four-inch heels! And she should regularly use really tough language! And generally behave like a huge, hairy dude . . . but very occasionally show her gentle side!")
It refuses to bow to reality in any way, essentially turning a woman into a man. This has become a real problem in film and television writing, primarily because women are not considered interesting when they act like - well - real women. Ditzy is okay; irrational is okay; ball-busting is okay; slutty is okay . . . as is completely innocent. But the well-rounded woman who is, as are most women, a combination of all those things plus a whole lot more - that's not okay.
