Taken 2!!!

Director Oliver Megaton’s ‘Taken 2’ stars the legendary Liam Neeson in his reprised role as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent who fought for his daughter’s life in the first film, ‘Taken.’ In the sequel, the film centers on Bryan and his ex-wife Lenore (portrayed byFamke Janssen) getting kidnapped and held hostage by a family member of one of Bryan’s former victims. It’s up to Bryan’s ‘special set of skills’ and his young daughter, Kim (portrayed by Maggie Grace) to help them out of this dangerous and possible fatal mess.

‘Taken 2’ although, very similar to the original film, is fun, violent, and exhilarating. The film takes place in Istanbul where Bryan’s former victim’s father, Murad (portrayed by Rade Serbedzija) plans to kidnap and kill Bryan and Lenore. Bryan needs to finish a job in Istanbul and after Lenore and Kim’s vacation plans fall through, Bryan invites them to relax and spend time with him in Istanbul. Although a little reluctant, they finally decide to go. Almost as soon as Bryan and family arrive, they get kidnapped. Kim luckily wasn’t taken and has to attempt to save her parents lives by communicating with her genius father on how to rescue them.

‘Taken 2’ is a fast-paced, action packed thriller. The skills that Bryan has in order to try and save his ex-wife and stay alive himself are remarkable. The acting in the film is decent. Neeson is perfect as the over-protective father/crime fighting CIA agent. Janssen is good as the damsel in distress; her role is quite minor in this film as well.Maggie Grace is much better in this film than the previous one. In ‘Taken’ most of her scenes she was either running around and acting foolish or drugged up so it was nice to see her in this film where she’s actually trying to remain in control and save her parents.

‘Taken 2’ is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a film that’s filled with thrilling scenes that will have anyone on the edge of their seat, violence that’s mostly martial arts, and the courage of one family to fight to stay alive.