Taken 2

In Taken, Liam Neeson’s CIA operative Bryan Mills goes on a vengeful rampage across Paris in order to find his kidnapped daughter. Leaving nothing but death and destruction in his wake, Bryan will do anything to rescue her, which he successfully does after amassing a starring body count of 32. Unfortunately for him, some of the people he killed were part of a much bigger organization led by Murad Hoxha (Rade Šerbedžija), and now he wants revenge for their deaths.

Taken 2 is essentially the same film as its predecessor, only this time around Kim (Maggie Grace) isn’t the only one in danger. In fact, she manages to avoid being kidnapped again. The same can’t be said for Bryan and his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), though. That doesn’t stop him from doing what he does best, which is kill practically everyone.

Using his unique set of skills that he’s acquired over the years, Bryan manages to outwit and outmatch his kidnappers. It took a lot of skill to find his daughter in Paris going using only a single phone conversation but Taken 2 has him using his photographic memory of Istanbul and acute hearing to navigate his way to the kidnapper’s safe house. It’s borderline ridiculous but honestly it doesn’t matter because this is Liam Neeson we’re talking about. He’s not one to question; after all, he is a Jedi who trained Batman.

Unfortunately, he is beginning to show some age as the stunts and fight scenes aren’t as glorious as they previously were in Taken. Part of that’s because much of it is the same stuff we’ve seen before; Bryan enjoys time with his family; family gets kidnapped; Bryan kills everyone. That being said, you could definitely do a lot worse. If you haven’t grown tired of Liam Neeson being his typical badass self, Taken 2 won’t deter you away. If you’re looking for something more elaborate, then this isn’t the film.

Taken 2 is a ridiculous and over-the-top action film that attempts to recreate the same adrenaline rush that preceded it. While it falls somewhat short of the first, the film manages to deliver a solid hour and a half of guns, explosions, and death. Honestly, what more could you ask from Liam Neeson?