In 2008, retired CIA agent Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) used his ‘particular set of skills’ to kick and punch his way through Europe to rescue his kidnapped daughter. Taken was a box office smash, with Neeson reinventing himself as the new action hero of the 21st Century.
Now Brian Mills is back. However, things aren’t going to plan. After he and his ex-wife Lennie (Famke Janssen) are kidnapped by the families of the human traffickers he had previously killed, it’s now up to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) to find them.
“Sounds pretty good so far,” I hear you say. However you may be disappointed what happens next…
The first half of the film builds up to what you expect to a climatic burst of pure adrenaline-pumping action with speedy car chases, violent fist fighting and high octane explosions. Unfortunately Taken 2 fails to live up to the legacy of the first film, lacking the story and intelligence originally offered and is no where near the high level of action Taken delivered.
The worst part of the movie is the potential that it has. With a brilliant beginning and glimpses of pure action genius ahead, Taken 2 fails to keep up with the expectations from the first film and dithers in comparison. Unlike Taken, the first rescue mission is fairly straight-forward and only takes Neeson’s daughter 20 minutes to track him down. After he drops her off at the S Embassy, it’s Neeson’s turn to reprise his role as a ‘preventer’ to rescue his wife. Unfortunately the film only has around 20 minutes left for Neeson to do his thing so there is a lack of his skills.
Thankfully, there have been rumours of a third Taken movie and if it gets the go ahead (which I’m sure it will), I sincerely hope Liam Neeson brings back his “particular set of skills”. I’m a huge Taken fan so luckily Taken 2 hasn’t put me of the franchise. However, I do expect something incredible from the next movie. Don’t let me down Liam!
[rating=3]
