Director:
Review By: Colby A. Martin
Review:
I didn’t see the first Taken for quite some time after its release. A friend of mine had it on DVD and we sat around and watched it one evening, and I loved every minute of it. I found it high energy, heart racing, compelling story. The pacing, the action, and just the overall “father would do anything to rescue his daughter” style of Liam Neeson‘s. Fast forward to 2012’s Taken 2, and the story takes a twist and goes personal. This time the guys are out to get revenge on Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson). Unfortunately in the process of trying to kidnap Mills, the Bryan’s daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) arrive to meet Bryan.
This is the big twist in the plot since they originally only planned to kidnap Mills and leave his family out of it, however, the guys seeking revenge decide to kidnap all of them to make sure Mills dies. Unfortunately Mills is aware of the plot and helps his daughter hide and eventually help them.
The story pretty much died at this point, the rest of the movie is his attempt to rescue his wife and make sure no one harms his family again. Unfortunately I didn’t find it as interesting as the first one. I felt it was fairly dry and bare boned compared to the first, and it left me wanting a lot more. The action still exists, it just wasn’t nearly as fascinating or action packed as before. I felt Neeson’s role was less of a guy out to rescue someone, but someone who was caught off guard. I kept waiting for him to take over the movie, but it seemed more like a movie about Kim getting her revenge.
Taken 2 is a decent movie, however it wasn’t the movie I was expecting. Taken 2 suffers from trying to one-up the original. Unfortunately it does little to set itself apart. There really isn’t much more they can do with this story line, unless they try to add to Kim’s own story. Having her learn to drive, get a boyfriend, and overall trying to return to a normal life was good to know. However, I really don’t see her story being carried on. The plot between Neeson and his wife isn’t worth developing either. I’d imagine this is the last of this franchise. If you really liked Taken, you might want to go see this one in the theaters. However, I’d recommend you to wait for it to hit Redbox or a Movie Rental place near you. That’s why Taken 2 recieves a 3 out of 5 .
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