Taken 2
Bryan Mills’ life is trying to return to normal after everything that happened in the first film “Taken”… which will certainly require effort. Bryan tries to normalize relationships with his daughter Kim (who’s struggling to pass her driving test, and also has difficulty telling her father she now has a boyfriend) and his ex-wife Lenore (to whom he’s now become a better friend, though she’s having a major marital crisis). Since obviously no one is normal anymore and everyone needs a break, Bryan suggests to Kim and Lenore that they visit him in Istanbul, since he’ll be staying there for a while for work (as security for some rich guy), and after that all three of them can spend time as if on vacation and take their minds off everything. And they really surprise him with a visit, and it seems everyone will finally relax a bit and normalize relationships. But blood revenge never sleeps…
In his saving of Kim (when she was kidnapped in Paris), Bryan killed quite a few Albanians. One of them was Anton, son of Albanian mafia boss Murad. Traditional as he is (as they say, “old school”), Murad decides to capture Bryan and spill his blood on his son’s grave (and the other killed Albanians).
Soon Bryan also realizes that someone in Istanbul is following them all the time (he soon realizes who as well), but that this time he’s the target. However, now Kim and Lenore are also in danger because of him. While Bryan and Lenore try to avoid the suspicious people following them in their car, Bryan calls his daughter Kim who stayed to “chill” at the hotel.
“Listen to me very carefully, Kim. Your mother and I are going to be taken and the people are going to come for you too.”
Trauma, I am back!
Bryan and Lenore are captured by Murad’s men. But he still manages to contact his daughter even while captured (you remember who Bryan Mills is, right? The man with a “very particular set of skills”…), who managed to avoid her pursuers at the hotel. He gives her instructions on how to save herself, but she wants to try to help her parents. With his guidance (which includes a few grenades… don’t ask…), Kim manages to find them and slip her father a gun, and then flees from her pursuers across the rooftops of Istanbul.
From that moment, a deadly race begins for Bryan Mills (though also for the Albanian criminals, considering it’s dangerous if Bryan gets hold of even a toothpick, let alone a gun). Albanian criminals are chasing his daughter across the roofs of ancient Istanbul, and his ex-wife is seriously injured in captivity and he can’t get her out fast enough to also save his daughter in time. Whether Bryan can save both women, who are everything to him in life, or will have to sacrifice one of them, and whether Murad will finally get his chance for revenge or whether the Albanian mafia will have to close its branch in Istanbul too, you’ll find out in the film “Taken 2.”
I was torn about whether to review the sequel, but I wanted to out of respect for the previous part. Though the film’s quality dropped, to be honest.
What’s good in “Taken 2”? Well of course, Liam Neeson. He did his job well again. He’s still a dangerous player you shouldn’t mess with. Now they’ve added a slightly more comical (or better said, more human) side to his personality, especially because of his excessive meticulousness and precision to the point of madness (OCD). There are also more action scenes (as well as the scene where, while kidnapped, he tries to memorize the location they’re taking him to based on his sense of hearing). Bryan now enters into many more confrontations, both hand-to-hand and with firearms on the streets of Istanbul (also a nice change after Paris).
It was also nice to see more (film) activity from Lenore and Kim (especially the daughter’s escape across the rooftops of Istanbul).
And where did “Taken 2” drop in quality? The change of director somewhat affected the drop in quality. Too much camera shaking or too close to the scene for filming, because they tried to (unnecessarily) convey realism. This also contributed to the beauties of Istanbul coming through less and a weaker presentation of how truly “alive” that city is (at least that’s what people who’ve visited it say).
And the plot “weakened.” Not even Luc Besson showed much enthusiasm and creativity in the sequel. The first “Taken” was also quite straightforward (saving the daughter), but the whole thing somehow had a nice composition, because everything revolved around Bryan/Liam. Now they tried to insert an element of (blood) revenge from Murad’s side, but there was too little emphasis on him as a villain, so you’d qualify him more as a “supporting main” villain (therefore, even Rade Šerbedžija as Murad didn’t get an excessive opportunity to show the drama of blood revenge). So the plot is more an “excuse” for old Bryan to beat up everyone alive and create chaos in Istanbul.
It’s obvious that “Taken 2” dropped in quality, but still remained as solid action, thanks to Liam’s performance. If you want action, feel free to watch this part too. But if you enjoyed the first part so much that it (maybe) became one of your favorite action films, then you can skip this film.
And does that mean “Taken 3” isn’t good either? Weeeell… that’s a story for another day. 🙂
And you, dear reader, what do you think about “Taken 2”? 🙂
Trailer
IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic
Format: Film
Premiere: 2012
Duration: 92 minutes
