Taken 2 sees Liam Neeson reprise his role as 
Bryan Mills, the man with a “certain set of skills”. Taken 2 is not a particularly good film, but it’s not THAT bad either.
The action takes place in Istanbul, Bryan is now back on active duty as a private bodyguard for the rich and famous. His ex-wife and daughter decide to fly out and surprise him. The families of the gangsters of the first film, seeking to avenge the people Bryan killed. He and his wife are taken and he then gives his certain set of skills to his daughter, over a mini-phone he keeps in his sock.
There are some intense sequences, but the action is not quite as good as the first film, the writing is generic and the editing pretty convoluted and kinetic, sometimes working and sometimes not. What really hurts the film is the fact that the studio pushed for a lower rating, so there is a lot of ‘cut to gun firing, cut to a body falling on the floor’ moments. The most laughable death occurs when Liam Neeson breaks someone’s neck, simply by putting his arm under the man’s nose.
There are also some huge logic gaps in the film, Bryan and Kim steal a cab, crash through the US embassy and the US embassy just seemingly let Bryan go back to shoot up Istanbul. Strangely the film succeeds in entertaining, I was never bored. If you’re looking for an engaging action film, stick Taken on. If you’re looking for something to watch at the end of a hard day, stick Taken 2 on. Look out for the inevitable Taken 3, where it turns out Kim’s boyfriend is the gangster’s second son, Marco.
DVD extras
- Extended and Theatrical Versions
Taken 2 is released on DVD on February 4th, 2013.
