Taken 2 (2012)

So, its a stinker!

If you came to see Liam Neeson kicking ass, my advice is turn back now and save your money. This is entirely due to the inability to actually see what the heck's going on in all of the films actions sequences and stunt co ordinations. The film looks like it was filmed on the site of a permanent earthquake with a camera dangling by a rope. If you have epilepsy this might be one to avoid considering how quick its been edited. Its almost like director Olivier Megaton said "yeah we're going for the subliminal message type look, edit it like that" And you want anything remotely reminiscent of the first films action? well forget about it because it hasn't been included.

What you will be treated to however is a cheap, watered down child friendly, completely unrealistic, trashy, knock off 'Rom Com with bullets' B reel, sold purely on the title of "Taken" alone.

Huge plot holes dominate the script from start to finish, in its purest form its basically an awful rehash of the first film but 1000 times worse, placing Maggie Grace (Bryan Mills daughter) as the heroine trying to rescue her parents from a load of bungling Albanians (yes they are literally that bad, think of Manuel from Faulty Towers and you have your starting point) . Liam Neeson does his best with what he's got, but there's only so much you can do with a turd script like this. Unfortunately its so laughable that Neesons character starts to look like a paranoid delusional psychopath that sees kidnappers everywhere. They must have forgotten to include the scene where Neeson gains his super power to spot evil doers just by looking at them, but hey that's what happens so get over it!

Not only that but did anybody even look at a map before this script was written? Had anybody even been to Turkey or Albania? Clearly its the best location in the world to magically learn how to drive a car, because that's what Maggie Grace does! However there's also a dire lack a qualified torturers because no one can do it, or interrogate or generally manage to do anything right! Alternatively, if you feel like throwing some hand grenades off rooftops without anybody batting an eyelid then this might just be the place for you. Don't worry about the police, they'll be to busy driving around in there 1970s bangers they hauled right off the scrap heap, where this movie also came from.

Unfortunately the worst news is that Taken 3 already seems to be on the horizon. Many of you will be asking 'how...why....who....???' but unfortunately money speaks louder than taste. I imagine the plot will be an all black screen and Liam Neesons voice over "Your money has been taken". The horror that it was a 12a should have sent alarm bells ringing before I even bought the ticket, alas my money and respect for the film industry is now gone forever. What's even more painful is the fact that Luc Besson is partly responsible for this mess, Luc Besson! director and producer of some truly awesome films.

Please don't see this film, please don't be 'Taken' in

Fmovies: Liam Neeson's action-man renaissance in 2008's "Taken" was a most unheralded critical and box-office hit for a seemingly generic revenge flick. Writers Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen managed to captivate audiences with a streamlined story of a retired CIA operative using his skills to locate and rescue his kidnapped daughter. It was a simple concept in that it utilized family bonds as motivation, but it was made exciting through a mixture of intriguing resourcefulness and crafty violence.

Everything about the story of "Taken" was so concrete, that there didn't seem like any obvious direction for a sequel, but a gross of $226.8 million on a $25-million budget talks, and so we have "Taken 2," but what Besson and Kamen have come up with this time fails to measure up to the original in almost every way.

This shouldn't surprise anyone considering, again, no justification existed in the original story for a sequel. Kim (Maggie Grace) couldn't just get taken again, and part of the intrigue was Mills (Neeson) having to find her despite being hours behind her captors with no idea of where they might take her. In "Taken 2," it's not as complicated and the stakes don't feel nearly as high.

Simply, the Albanians that Mills killed en route to finding his daughter want revenge, so they track him to one of his private security jobs in Istanbul. As it happens, Kim and her mother, Lenore (Famke Janssen), decide to surprise him by flying to meet him there, though to be fair it's not that obnoxious of a coincidence, as Mills had invited them to come after hearing Lenore's current husband had canceled their family trip to China.

During their first full day together in Istanbul, Kim gets the idea to let Bryan and Lenore have some alone time in hopes of rekindling their relationship, but when they go into town they are followed by the Albanians, and despite Mills' best efforts, he and Lenore are taken.

The entire setup here is forced — really forced. It feels as though every single plot point or detail exists solely to create circumstances in which our main characters can get kidnapped, with ample occurrences both inconvenient and convenient to allow for problems and general suspense while also providing enough room for a solution.

We already know what Mills is willing to do for his family, so his motivation is identical to the first film, plus we know he's too skilled to stay kidnapped for long. What's required to compensate for not raising the stakes in terms of both motivation and danger is substantially more creativity, and that's where Besson and Kamen really come up dry.

There's one scene early on (as in once the film gets going early on) in which Mills uses Kim to help pinpoint his location in the city, instructing her to set off grenades so he can figure out how far away she is by how long it takes for him to hear the blast. It's just a tease that the film might reach its predecessor's level, however, as the ingenuity never gets any more exciting than that.

Director Olivier Megaton, a frequent Besson collaborator, takes over for Pierre Morel, and does nothing to help nor hurt the picture. His style is a bit more frenetic as he heavily edits the action sequences to the point where you don't get more than a second and a half at any one camera angle, but that's not a problem so much as the film's failure through and through to prevent the audience's indiffer

What an utter disappointment. Like many fans of the original Taken, I was looking forward to a sequel to see if it could match or in any way surpass the original. I am afraid that as as sequel I am left perplexed at the lack of any tension, real action and pace in the film. The villains were not as nasty as they should be- after all they were seeking revenge for the slaughter of friends and family and all appeared not all intimidating. There was no sharp dialogue and some scenes bordered on the risible especially when Liam Neeson was trying to give directions to his daughter on his whereabouts. The finale was rushed and overall the film lacked any bite or interest. Dull, unimaginative-only Liam Neeson kept what glimmer of hopes alive by his solid acting. However, a real shame the film could not even match or equal the original. Do not waste your time- see the original Taken and leave this sequel alone.

Taken 2 fmovies. I am a big fan of the first taken movie, it not only had professional cinematography but great action, suspense and originality. Now this sequel i am ashamed to say was a money grab by the producers. Now Luc Besson and Robert wrote the original script without being pressured by their superiors to be limited to a marketable plot, unfortunately thats what has happened to Taken 2.

The plot follows Liam Neeson after the events of the original and well its the pretty much an identical situation.

The climax however is the main issue , it's rushed. It just happens and I was left wondering why it just ended so fast.

I cannot say this movie was terrible because it wasn't, it was just a movie that could not even close live up to its predecessor due to lack of depth and originality.

Don't waste your money at the cinemas Wait till its on DVD