Taken 2 aka don't piss off Liam Neeson!

Taken 2
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, and Maggie Grace
New Release Review

First off I have to say - Can Liam Neeson do no wrong? Honestly, I can't remember the last time he was in a terrible movie. Don't get me wrong - not every movie he is in is great. But you can't deny that Neeson is a fantastic actor. You know you have serious clout as an actor when you never have to hide your accent in any film you do! No matter what the character may be, Neeson always gets to portray them as an Irish man.

Now back to the film review!

Taken 2 picks up after the events of the first film (if you haven't seen the first film, don't bother seeing the second - it won't have the same effect on you if you don't know the story) and gives you little to no background on the Mills family. Some things have changed but Bryan Mills (Neeson) is still the overprotective super dad he was in the first film.

Not going to go into too much detail about the plot of this film as there really isn't much difference from the first. A little change to the basic plot in order to make it more plausible that someone from this family could be "taken" for a second time. This time, Bryan Mills is working a job in Istanbul and since Lenore's (Famke Janssen) family trip to China has been canceled (due to a crumbling marriage to her second husband), Bryan invites her and their daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) to meet up with him in Istanbul. The family of the men that Mills killed in the first film when saving Kim from being "taken", have banded together to hunt him down and make his family pay for their suffering. This time, it is not Kim who is "taken"; it's Mills and Lenore. And so the action and thrill ride begins.

The film is a typical sequel - though I don't think it was in the master plan to make a sequel of this film. This was a prime example of a sleeper action film becoming a hit and the production company trying to capitalize on its success by making an unnecessary sequel. The storyline was simple enough to make a compelling action film but at times it did feel forced. The action itself was great - car chases, fight sequences, etc. were impeccably done, save a few glitches with the filming of the car chases where you weren't quite sure what was going on (hard to follow cars zooming around a congested city).

Neeson, once again, is remarkable as a the hero. He's not your typical action star, which is what makes him, and this film series, so effective. You see an actor who can really act, step into a role that is foreign to him, and make it work really well. And what's even more remarkable about Neeson is that he was able to take a sequel that was barely put together in a decent manner and make it enjoyable for the audience.

Final Verdict: See it. But only after you have seen Taken. If you enjoy that film (which is hard not to), you will enjoy more of the same in this film. And ladies, if you, like many women in this world, love Neeson, you will definitely enjoy watching him kick butt in this action thriller.


Rotten Tomatoes