Review of Taken 2 (2012) by Mrmoviebuff — 01 Mar 2017

'Taken 2' is more than just a disappointing sequel, while it has its fair share of great action movie moments, it is unbalanced and horrendously manufactured. I was mildly underwhelmed by the predecessor, 'Taken' (2008) also had great moments of action galore and made Liam Neeson the action star he is.

Here, he once again proves why he should be the front man of any action movie, but unfortunately the screenplay allows for some silly moments aplenty. Bryan Mills (Neeson) is back, and treats his family, Lenore (Famke Jannsen) and Kim (Maggie Grace) to a holiday in Istanbul, meanwhile, the fathers of the kidnappers who Bryan killed in the previous film seek out revenge.

They manage to track Bryan in his holiday destination, and both Bryan and Lenore end up getting kidnapped, leaving Kim to try and do everything to make sure they get out alive. Bryan manages to instruct Kim on what to do, and they both have to try and find Lenore before it's too late.

The sequel does what it promises with its premise, seeing our main hero getting kidnapped by those who want revenge was pretty much all this had going for it. Unfortunately, there's not enough to keep you interested as most of what goes on is rather ludicrous and at times, laughable.

The cast do a good job carrying the movie, but the direction by Olivier Megaton is rather uninspired, most of the action scenes are not visible as it is hard to track what is going on. Too many edits is an eyesore.

This is a sequel that should remain neglected.