Taken 2 review

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills in Taken 2, this time set in Istanbul. Is it worth a watch? Well…

Man...even the tagline sounds cheesy.

I suppose if you liked the first movie, Taken, then you would probably like this as well. Can’t say I was much of a fan of Taken, but it was quite exciting watch Liam Neeson taking on the role of a retired badass CIA field operative and kicking glorious amounts of ass all around Paris.

What do you mean we have no bacon...?
It can't be true...

This time, the story is set in Istanbul, where the father of Marko, one of the men Bryan Mills killed in Taken, and vows revenge on him. Of course, the stakes are now higher, as this time Bryan’s ex-wife, Lenore is there as well.

As you can see, the story is not going to win any awards, it’s simple enough to follow, and frankly, most people are not going to be watching it for the story anyways.

Some parts of the story are a bit…weird though.

Why would the Albanian mafia speak English with each other? Especially in the opening, where the main baddie Murad speaks to the entire village in Tropojë, Albania IN ENGLISH. That seemed a bit…jarring. Why couldn’t they have spoken in Albanian with subtitles?

There’s also the fact that Bryan actually instructed his daughter, Kim, to start tossing grenades around Istanbul so that he can figure out where his location is in relation to hers. That seems a bit extreme.

And irresponsible.

Then, there’s also Murad’s sense of so-called Justice. I totally understand if he just wanted revenge on Bryan for his son’s death, but he kept saying something about justice and some bullshit like that.

My epic beard hides my epic sorrow

Erm…yea. Your son was part of a fucking human trafficking ring. That really does not fit in at all. Of course, it’s very likely he’s just saying it to justify the actions he is about to put Bryan and his family through. Or he is plain crazy.

I think it’s the latter though.

I mean, you have got to be a bit cuckoo, to try to take revenge on a guy that took out an entire crime cartel, almost singlehandedly. This time, he fares no better, and loses his ENTIRE gang to Bryan.

Man, you suck.

Then again, he is also Qui-Gon Jinn, Zeus, Ras al Ghul, Jesus Christ,
Aslan, John Hannibal Smith and Admiral Shane (Battleship).

One thing though, I like the family dynamics in the story. It’s rather heartwarming and interesting to watch the three of them interact as a family. That sidestory is mostly concentrated during the first act of the movie, where Bryan brings Kim out for driving lessons, talks about her boyfriend, comforts his ex-wife about the state of her marriage, his barbeque outing with his buddies etc.

Actually, they could have turned it into a romantic comedy action flick. Which would turn out well.

Hmm…

As for the acting, to put it simply: Liam Neeson is pretty ass-kicking awesome; Maggie Grace (plays his daughter, Kim) is pretty hot while she runs around in a bikini; Famke Janssen (plays his wife, Lenore) is pretty damn hot too; Rade Serbedzija (the baddie) is erm…underwhelming.

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Still, it’s not to say a bad movie, but it’s not a great one either. If you’re a fan of Liam Neeson, like I am, then watch it for the sake of seeing Liam Neeson kicking ass.

Hmm…retired former CIA field operative kicking ass?? Why isn’t he in RED 2???

Yes, they're making a sequel. You may now cry tears of joy.