(Movie Review) Taken 2 (2012)

Taken 2 defeats the box office but kills the audience with boredom in the process

There was something special about Taken (2008). Maybe it was that it crept up on everyone. Kind of how Liam Neeson would creep up on his victims and take them down with a swift punch to the throat or a broken neck. It wasn’t something that people were expecting to do as well as it did. What made it a winner was positive word of mouth from everyone that happened to go in to see it.  It was a lower budget film with lots of action and the introduction of Liam Neeson as a legitimate action star. So what do you think that the logical thing to do next would be? If you guessed RUIN IT with a mediocre sequel you would be absolutely correct.

Storyline: Life is going much better for Bryan Mills (Neeson) these days. He is finally a functioning part of his daughters life, he and his ex-wife are more than friendly to each other, and he is enjoying retirement (with the exception of the occasional contract job). His family life is good. However, the family life of Murad Krasniqi (Serbedzija) is not so great. He was the father, uncle, brother and friend to many of those that were killed when Mills rescued his daughter Kim (Grace) from those that once abducted her….and Krasniqi is out for revenge. While on a family trip to Istanbul, Byran and his ex-wife Lenore (Janssen) are abducted and it is up to Kim to help free them. The entire family is at risk and it will take all of their efforts to get them safely out of Istanbul.

As you can see from the above film description the work load is somewhat shared in this movie. When the first movie came out, and it was about a father that would move Heaven and Earth to get his daughter back, it was very focused on one man and his mission. A tone was set. But this move bounces back and forth from Neeson and Grace pursuing the bad guys. So the way that one character approaches the situation, like an ex-government operative that isn’t scared of anything, is often interrupted by the actions of how a different character approaches the situation, like a scared teenage girl that has never been forced into a situation like this. It makes for a very uneven movie. The flow of it never seems to really live up to the first film.

Worth the admission? I am going to have to say no. I hate to do it. I loved the first movie and love Liam Neeson, but this movie just doesn’t come close to the original. The fights are REALLY choppy and the action is pretty tame. The two big “kills” in the movie are huge letdowns. It just came across as lazy and, I hate to say it, boring. Wait until it hits DVD or Netflix to watch it.