Taken 2
Years after rescuing his daughter (Maggie Grace) from a group of Albanian sex traffickers, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is a wanted man by thugs out to avenge the deaths of their relatives. Now in Istanbul with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and daughter the entire family is kidnapped and separated, it’s up to Bryan to use his unusual skill set to break free and track down his loved ones before time runs out.
Perhaps in the running for the best incidental comedy of the year, it’s a little hard to take this one seriously. While action sequences seem interesting and Neeson brings an elegant gravitas to the way he downs his opponents, the dialogue is otherwise laughable. Practically demanding a suspension of disbelief the actual plot feels thinly concocted meanwhile the actual cinematography has its redeemable merits leaving the film as an odd blend of quality production with underdeveloped writing. Knowing this, the film is still entertaining in its own simplistic way and maybe a matinee but really sings more rental. Taken 2 is rated PG-13.