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7

oblique15Nov 9, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Taken 2 is worth watching, but for most who watched the original it`s going to disappoint.I like how the bad guys are related to the ones in Taken 1, but wish they just let the wife and daughter get kidnapped instead of mother, and husband. I would find it much more fun if he was tracking them down the whole movie, trying to find them, than taking care of business.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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7

WriteFilmLive21Jan 19, 2013

Well it's hardly a surprise, but "Taken 2", despite its decent entertainment value, does not match the first one's calibre. Lacking a lot of the emotional weight and packed with fun but less thrilling action scenes, it tries to involve theWell it's hardly a surprise, but "Taken 2", despite its decent entertainment value, does not match the first one's calibre. Lacking a lot of the emotional weight and packed with fun but less thrilling action scenes, it tries to involve the daughter and mother more, but mostly results in it feeling a bit too watered down and underdeveloped. I'm happy I saw it, but for me, it comes far short of beating its predecessor, and I will probably not bother with any third installment they might be hoping to make.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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7

bradtheman123Jan 5, 2015

The start of this series was very promising when talking about the first movie (Taken.) I also think that this was kind presumed of who a would get kidnapped and what would happen after watching the first and hearing that there would be aThe start of this series was very promising when talking about the first movie (Taken.) I also think that this was kind presumed of who a would get kidnapped and what would happen after watching the first and hearing that there would be a second. Overall its a good movie that you need to see for yourself to understand how good it is.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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3

Knicksfan7Oct 17, 2012

I went into this movie expecting a brainless but fun action film. Well all i got was brainless. This movie wasn't even fun. I'm a big Liam Neeson fan, especially when hes kicking ass and honestly the action sucked in this sequel to theI went into this movie expecting a brainless but fun action film. Well all i got was brainless. This movie wasn't even fun. I'm a big Liam Neeson fan, especially when hes kicking ass and honestly the action sucked in this sequel to the overrated but fun first entry into the series. I even think im being generous giving it a 3. I'm not one to look for believability in a movie like taken 2 but come on, some of the crap was unbearable. The daughters using fregen grenades and nobody in istanbul seems to give a crap like chicks chuck grenades around the city on a daily basis, and how the daughter who keep in mind has failed her road test 3 times as was mentioned earlier in the film, all of a sudden becomes the worlds best getaway driver in this seemingly indestrcutible taxi that no matter what it crashes into there will never be a scratch on it. It was just unbearable. I'll give it a 3/10 which is definitely being more than generous, don't waste your time or hard-earned money!… Expand

8 of 10 users found this helpful82

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2

kaozgamerOct 7, 2012

Great acting and casting BUT it still managed to be the biggest disappointed so far. Taken is a kind of movie that don't need a sequel. Oh well, I guess they wanted to milk the cash cow. The biggest problem was with the story. Why would theGreat acting and casting BUT it still managed to be the biggest disappointed so far. Taken is a kind of movie that don't need a sequel. Oh well, I guess they wanted to milk the cash cow. The biggest problem was with the story. Why would the enemies go after him and his family AGAIN? I mean didn't they already learn their lesson from the first film. The way the action sequences were edited was terrible. You couldn't tell who was punching whom and who was getting hit. Every half a second they would cut to another shot. It was painful to watch. Stay away from Taken 2.… Expand

7 of 10 users found this helpful73

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5

beladrimOct 7, 2012

Loved the first movie, struggled to enjoy this one. In the first one, you experience almost everything from Neesons point of view. You have no idea of where the girl is, and who took her. You don't even know if she is still alive. This isLoved the first movie, struggled to enjoy this one. In the first one, you experience almost everything from Neesons point of view. You have no idea of where the girl is, and who took her. You don't even know if she is still alive. This is what made the first movie very enjoyable to watch. This made the quest of finding his daughter way more dramatic and thrilling as you never knew what to expect. After watching the first 10 minutes of this movie (and the trailer) i knew i was going to be disappointed. Taken 2 detaches us from the protagonist this time, giving us the point of view of the villains, the daughter and the ex-wife. This breaks all the drama of the first one. They are no surprises, you know exactly where the bad guys are holding them, and what they are doing to them. At this point, the only way this movie could save itself is by delivering a lot of action. The actions scene are alright but they are far from amazing. They are mostly chip tricks we have all seen before. A car chase that ends with a train nearly missing the good guys and hitting the bad guys is nothing original. The action doesn't make up for the lack of drama and suspense. Taken 2 clearly doesn't live up to it's predecessor.… Expand

8 of 12 users found this helpful84

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2

HauntedDonutOct 6, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What I don't understand, is how people thought the first movie was good. Rooster Teeth named Taken their 'Movie of the Year'. It was too predictable. If a guard turned right down a corridor, Liam Neeson would come from the left. The editing was unbearably atrocious. The writing seemed like the movie was filmed on the first draft. Taken 2 was no different. It is the kind of movie that is something to laugh at on the drive home. First off, the editing. During the fight scenes, it was like trying to play pin the tail on the donkey. You can't tell who is who until the scene is over. You may as well close your eyes and listen to the soundtrack. Which that in it self is nothing new. Like pretty much every single action movie today, the soundtrack is made up of the violin family. With the addition of a synthesizer. It makes the movie seem dull and cliche. Which it needs no help doing.

Lastly, the writing. I could of gone and seen The Expendables 2 and gotten a better plot line. In fact. There is barely any plot line at all. It's all 'Hey lets shoot everyone that sounds Turkish!'. The scene where Kim and Brian are in the taxi and burst into the US Embassy. What was the point in that! They weren't being followed. The last car got blown up by the train.

The only thing on the writing side I can give them credit for is when they are setting off grenades to tell how far away they are from each other. That was clever. Just the fact that there would be police swarming the streets.

This is a movie that will leave you red faced after the amount of face palms you do...… Expand

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

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4

grandpajoe6191Aug 19, 2015

"Taken 2" is just basically your generic more-action less-plot summer dimwit blockbuster that is a straight forward copy of the original film, which wasn't even that great.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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2

NickGillenOct 16, 2012

This movie is appalling. From the opening credits you can tell it's going to be terrible, acting seems extremely forced and at times very cringe-worthy. Too many close-ups of the daughter's cleavage and bum thrown in for no reason. ProductThis movie is appalling. From the opening credits you can tell it's going to be terrible, acting seems extremely forced and at times very cringe-worthy. Too many close-ups of the daughter's cleavage and bum thrown in for no reason. Product placement is beyond un-subtle and the story is just laughable. The ending is also terrible and the music general action nonsense lacking the emotional punch of the first. Basically, a great movie has been ruined by a simply terrible sequel simply to cash in on our love for the first.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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7

mds03Mar 3, 2013

Almost as good as the first one. I was surprised at how good it was and how well it lived up to Taken 1's standards. Hopefully their's not a third one because that would probabaly ruin it all.

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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8

senogadOct 13, 2012

I enjoyed this movie but there were a few things that let me down, first I liked the way that in the first movie, everything was from Brian's point of view, but in this movie I thought there were to many pointless cutaways from differentI enjoyed this movie but there were a few things that let me down, first I liked the way that in the first movie, everything was from Brian's point of view, but in this movie I thought there were to many pointless cutaways from different perspectives. I don't want to compare this to the first one but I enjoyed the way the first one was gritty, In my opinion I think it would have been better if they raised the age rating up to include a gritty and darker aspect to it, but overall the acting and action was great, Definitely worth a watch.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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0

RedMoonOct 8, 2012

This film did ok for the actors but for a movie that had a succesful rating for the first film this was dissapointing. the diretors and writers of this film did well with the location and scrips but as soon as the film started to pick up allThis film did ok for the actors but for a movie that had a succesful rating for the first film this was dissapointing. the diretors and writers of this film did well with the location and scrips but as soon as the film started to pick up all u can expect is a relax in your chairs and not at all close to a thriller. this film for me personally was not worth the money i spent.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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0

LR1000Oct 7, 2012

I really enjoyed the first Taken. It was mindless badassery. You didn't have to think, you just went along for the ride. Neeson showed himself as being capable of performing in a Bourne-esque role, which is great for a man of his age.I really enjoyed the first Taken. It was mindless badassery. You didn't have to think, you just went along for the ride. Neeson showed himself as being capable of performing in a Bourne-esque role, which is great for a man of his age.

Underneath it all, Taken 2 is still a pretty decent action flick with Neeson on fine, badass form. There's some good action and the fights are exciting (when they're not cut to ribbons) and our hero belts out another memorable catchphrase (albeit one that's not quite as impressive as the orignal "I will find you" one).

So why the 0 score? 3 Reasons.

1) Olivier Megaton. This guy is atrocious as a director. Strangely, i've seen a number of his films & they've all been terrible. Don't ever let him near something high profile, ever again. Especially action films, he says he hates violence. What a joke.

2) The editing. Christ almighty, I lost count of the camera switches in just the first 5 minutes alone! Was it really necessary to show Neeson entering his daughters boyfriends house from 4 angles in the space of 2 seconds? I know a lot of fast cuts and shakey-cam are supposed to give you a feeling of the action unfolding, to make it feel more intense, but this was on such a ridiculous scale that at some points I felt sick.

3) The self-censorship. Pandering to the PG-13/12a crowd on a 'franchise' that has rated higher in the past is something I cannot support. I waited for the uncut DVD version of Die Hard 4 before I saw it as I did not want to give the studios my box office money for a kid-friendly version. The first Taken movie was brutal and unflinching, it was gritty and exciting. Taken 2, on the other hand, has had it's heart completely ripped out (off camera!) and loses a lot of the soul the first film had (I know that sounds quite pretentious given the type of movie this is). Whoever it was who went to the BBFC in the UK for advice on how to get a lower rating should be fired. 15 or 18, or don't bother.

I have been waiting for this film with excitement since I first heard it was being made, so it's heartbreaking to be so disappointed. I'm not sure if even an uncut/unrated version can save it, as Megaton has said in an interview that the DVD will be a directors cut, rather than a 'rougher, more violent cut'. This saddens me greatly. Extra scenes won't mean a thing if they're as mild as the rest of them.

Don't bother watching this, do not give the cinemas any money for this film, send a message that going for a broader audience will actually result in a smaller one. If you must watch this film, wait to see how they produce the DVD. If they do the same as Die Hard 4s release, then I will recommend you see it. If the DVD turns out to be as tame as the theatrical version, leave it. Pretend it never happened. Forget it exists. Cherish your fond memories of the first film and keep wishing for a sequel. A real sequel.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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5

Forrestgump1Jun 4, 2013

"While i have the utmost respect for Liam Neeson & he truly is a badass. But Taken 2 truly is mess. Its basically a re-hash of the first outing and is nowhere near as entertaining either. I'm going to say Rent It just because i loved the"While i have the utmost respect for Liam Neeson & he truly is a badass. But Taken 2 truly is mess. Its basically a re-hash of the first outing and is nowhere near as entertaining either. I'm going to say Rent It just because i loved the first one so much" C… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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2

nafeesJan 14, 2013

some movies just can't have sequels. other then the amazing Liam Neeson acting and Istanbul, every thing else is just so ridiculously crap. story line and plot so predictable. especially if you have watched the first one Taken, which was asome movies just can't have sequels. other then the amazing Liam Neeson acting and Istanbul, every thing else is just so ridiculously crap. story line and plot so predictable. especially if you have watched the first one Taken, which was a good average movie, then this would be extremely difficult to watch.… Expand

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1

TheKiddyDec 26, 2012

Let's talk more generally about the trend in Luc Besson's films, in particular those written with Robert Mark Kamen. They are going downhill fast -- and faster. It's one thing to have a sequel here or there, and another to mail it in as RMK is doing.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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7

TheQuietGamerMay 17, 2013

I'm a huge Liam Neeson fan, and a huge fan of the first Taken. Despite this I wasn't sure that a sequel to Taken would turn out good. First of all a sequel was unnecessary, and movies that get unnecessary sequels (The Hangover, The Mummy)I'm a huge Liam Neeson fan, and a huge fan of the first Taken. Despite this I wasn't sure that a sequel to Taken would turn out good. First of all a sequel was unnecessary, and movies that get unnecessary sequels (The Hangover, The Mummy) usually suffer in the long run because the sequels never live up to the original movie. Well turns out I was right, Taken 2 never lives up to the first movie and just feels unnecessary. But that doesn't mean that the movie isn't enjoyable. It's a decent action flick and it will keep you watching to the end, but you'll notice that it lacks the punch and originality that the first movie had. In the end I enjoyed the movie even though it felt like a generic action flick with a spectacular cast. In closing I just want to say this to whoever is in charge of these kinds of things, do NOT make a Taken 3. You got lucky this time but don't push your luck with a 3rd movie.… Expand

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3

TokyochuchuMay 7, 2013

Taken 2 is unbelievably disappointing. It starts out promisingly; the hero is just as likable as in first film and the new villain has a sensible, efficient motivation. Unfortunately, the film goes badly wrong when the action starts. TheTaken 2 is unbelievably disappointing. It starts out promisingly; the hero is just as likable as in first film and the new villain has a sensible, efficient motivation. Unfortunately, the film goes badly wrong when the action starts. The fights and car chases that follow are all generic and unexciting. Worse still, some of the logic in the movie is stupefying... A girl without a driver's license can suddenly drive like Jason Bourne, repeatedly setting off grenades in a metropolitan area does no damage and alerts minimal security and apparently, driving through a US embassy checkpoint at high speed, thus causing soldiers to open fire warrants no detention or subsequent investigation. What a total mess of a movie! The first one was classic. This one is utter jank.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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9

KadeemluvmusicJan 16, 2013

Why is every goddamn critic hatin' on Taken 2? As long as I smash them with a bottle of whiskey, Taken 2 does not suck. It may look a little different on the first Taken, but Liam Neeson, he shouldn't need no stunt double. But he'sWhy is every goddamn critic hatin' on Taken 2? As long as I smash them with a bottle of whiskey, Taken 2 does not suck. It may look a little different on the first Taken, but Liam Neeson, he shouldn't need no stunt double. But he's 60-years-old, he's the Jackie Chan-meets-Bourne style of action movies. No signs on slowing down, that's all. I gotta get Taken 2 on Blu-Ray. Soon, it'll be Taken 3 or 4.… Expand

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9

Bruce722Jan 16, 2013

I absolutely loved the first film and was concerned that they were just throwing together a money-grab with this sequel. The trailers all made it look like it was the exact same movie all over again. That couldn't have been further from theI absolutely loved the first film and was concerned that they were just throwing together a money-grab with this sequel. The trailers all made it look like it was the exact same movie all over again. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Sure, it had a similar feel in terms of cinematic elements and action style but the plot was completely different and yet it tied into the first movie really well. I can't give the film a perfect rating because it felt like it lacked the same unique experience that made the first one so special. That's probably not fair but it's the truth nonetheless. I noticed that a lot of people disliked or were disappointed by this movie for some reason. That reason escapes me because I thoroughly enjoyed it and would think that anyone who loved the first movie would enjoy this movie too.… Expand

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8

potatoes351Feb 14, 2013

So...a pointless sequel right? Well you are almost there, you see Taken 2 didn't need to happen nor was it as good as its predecessor however it did not deserve the hate it received due to it still being a generally great action film.
TakenSo...a pointless sequel right? Well you are almost there, you see Taken 2 didn't need to happen nor was it as good as its predecessor however it did not deserve the hate it received due to it still being a generally great action film.
Taken 2 starts in Albania where the families of some of the mobsters from the previous film live, tier dead bodies return home and their fathers brothers swear revenge on Brian and his family. Brian is now living a happy life with constant contact with his daughter Kim and is even building back his relationship with his ex-wife Lenore. On a trip to Istanbul the mobsters track the family down taking Brian and Lenore hostage. It is up to Kim to rescue them and Brian to put an end to this horrible affair once and for all.

Taken 2 ticks all the boxes for a great action film with a nicely tied together story. It has more action than Taken 1 and despite the lower age rating feels more brutal. The only real complaints I have are the overly choppy camera work and editing and that the story does still leave a few questions unanswered and a possibility (though not necessity) of a Taken 3.
Taken 2 is a great action movie and despite the generally negative and middling reviews still something you should pick up if you are a fan of the genre.… Expand

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8

T-DIDDEYOct 13, 2012

I loved the first Taken film so i was excited for the second and i was not disappointed, Taken 2 is a very solid sequel. Liam neeson puts in another great performance as Bryan the ex CIA man, his tactics and quick thinking are just as good asI loved the first Taken film so i was excited for the second and i was not disappointed, Taken 2 is a very solid sequel. Liam neeson puts in another great performance as Bryan the ex CIA man, his tactics and quick thinking are just as good as they were in the first movie.… Expand

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2

SeriosityDec 31, 2012

Be prepared for complete nonsense. The girl is not skillful enough a drive to get a driver's license in the US, yet towards the end she hops in a stick stick shift cab and is the world's best getaway driver. Liam Neeson is detained and cuffedBe prepared for complete nonsense. The girl is not skillful enough a drive to get a driver's license in the US, yet towards the end she hops in a stick stick shift cab and is the world's best getaway driver. Liam Neeson is detained and cuffed but left alone for hours to find himself away out while guiding his daughter towards him with using a cellphone he had because he was not stripped searched. Albanian's conversing exclusively in English. Grenades being thrown out of hotels and no police response whatsoever. The direction and editing is similarly terrible, the overuse of shaky-cam unbearable… Expand

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8

DizzyEnriqueJan 29, 2013

Taken 2. This movie can be described in one word. Underrated. This movie was ultimately a fitting sequel to the first taken movie. Liam Neeson once again pulled of Bryan Mills with great swagger. The star of this movie though had to be MaggieTaken 2. This movie can be described in one word. Underrated. This movie was ultimately a fitting sequel to the first taken movie. Liam Neeson once again pulled of Bryan Mills with great swagger. The star of this movie though had to be Maggie Grace who portayed Mill's daughter. She took the helm of this film as if it was her own not Neesons. The action sequences I found to be longer and flowed more unlike the first taken film which contained short and choppy fight scenes and this movie stuck to one villain unlike the 1st one which never really established a villain and all the ones that it had were wimpy. I did find myself comparing him to the most interesting man in the world commercials though ha ha. Also Luc Besson did a great job penning this movie which ddi not surprise me. The only complaint I had with this movie was the camera work which was indeed atrocious. That is the only reason I gave this an 8 and not higher. Overall I enjoyed this movie. Not as much as the first but it was still a fun thrill ride that proved to be worth the wait for.… Expand

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10

lkusaOct 7, 2012

If you enjoyed Taken you will enjoy this, too. Good casting, good action, good film. As mush as Neeson's character wants to take charge, it is nice to see him learn to train and then defer to others.

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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7

theofficeOct 6, 2012

I really enjoyed this movie. It is fairly quick pace and heavy on action with a light, but believable story thrown in. The action is superb overall. Furthermore, Liam Neeson is a great actor and he really makes the movie awesome. I would giveI really enjoyed this movie. It is fairly quick pace and heavy on action with a light, but believable story thrown in. The action is superb overall. Furthermore, Liam Neeson is a great actor and he really makes the movie awesome. I would give it a 7.5 because while similar to the first it really isn't as good, mainly due to the story. The plot wasn't developed to a great depth and I found it a little lacking in the end. That being said it is still a great action flick to sit down and eat popcorn. Better than the Expendables 2; not quite as good as Total Recall (2012).… Expand

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10

WhySoSerious008Oct 9, 2012

Taken 2 my little freind, you rock. Tjis film is so well written and well paced ithat it will have you uessing who is going to get taken. The acting in this film surpasses the acting found in Looper and The Avengers or Te Dark Knight RIses.Taken 2 my little freind, you rock. Tjis film is so well written and well paced ithat it will have you uessing who is going to get taken. The acting in this film surpasses the acting found in Looper and The Avengers or Te Dark Knight RIses. The story is so original I just didnt understand why they didnt just copy the first ones ideas, I mean there was a scene so well directed where a girl trows grenades, awesome.… Expand

7 of 20 users found this helpful713

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4

CitizenCharlieOct 5, 2012

Released in 2008, Taken came out of nowhere to earn $145 million at the box office on just a $25 million budget. The movie-going public recognizes fresh material when they see it. Taken was original, creative, driven, and hosted one of theReleased in 2008, Taken came out of nowhere to earn $145 million at the box office on just a $25 million budget. The movie-going public recognizes fresh material when they see it. Taken was original, creative, driven, and hosted one of the most memorable protagonists in recent memory. Of course they would have to make a sequel to wring some more money out of Taken's fans.

A review of a movie sequel which starts outs praising the first installment instead of the new story is most likely not going to be very kind to the unfortunate title which ends in the number 2. Taken 2 keeps Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, Famke Janssen as his ex-wife Lenore, and the always relentlessly annoying Maggie Grace as his daughter Kim. Rule of thumb - if Maggie Grace is cast in your film, it will probably stink. This is her second feature film in 2012, after Lockout, so she is 0-2 this year. The bad guys are also mostly the same; they are the extended family of the first group of Albanians Bryan killed after they kidnapped his daughter and sold her into sex slavery. Now they want revenge; they must honor their dead sons and brothers. It doesn't matter that their sons and brothers were human traffickers, rapists, and murderers. Family honor is family honor ya know? Bryan is growing close with his family again. After a few days of work in Istanbul as a heavily armed bodyguard, Byran invites Lenore and Kim to Turkey to take in the sights and relax in a very posh hotel. Fortunately for the Albanians, this is where they are going to kidnap Bryan, transport him back to Albania, and torture him to death. The introduction of mom and daughter is a cherry on top for the head bad guy Murad (Rade Serbedzija). He is older with grey hair; I mention this because all of the other couple dozen bad guys run together, he is the only one you will remember. In Taken, Bryan had it comparatively easy. He had one person to save and could methodically move through the ranks of thugs as he stabbed and shot his way to the top. Now, not only does he have to watch his own back, he must save both mom and daughter, sometimes alternating which one he can help at any given moment.

The original Taken was so good because of Bryan's practical and purposeful methods of extracting information, Neeson's deadpan delivery, and the ins and out of seedy Paris locales. Now take everything which made Taken a great movie and divide it by two. You already know the story, you know Bryan will talk slowly and concisely about how he has certain skills, and this time you get to suffer a bit more because Maggie Grace gets more screen time. The camera work also takes a nosedive during hand to hand combat. The camera shakes, jumps up and down, does some jumping jacks, and the average edit is probably .002 seconds. The audience has no hope of logically following who is punching whom or where a new bad guy springs up from. Scenes where Bryan fights with a loaded pistol are much easier to watch.

It's not that I'm mad at writer Luc Besson or director Olivier Megaton; they probably were under a lot of pressure to re-create the Taken magic. Unfortunately, they did not do a very good job. The story is only a bit laundered from the first one and everything else is merely imitation. Stay away from Taken 2, it will only remind you of its superior predecessor.… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful24

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8

EssenceOfSugarOct 8, 2012

I was indeed wary that this might be not up to standards of the first film, but when I saw it, I thought it was better. It was a ridiculous storyline, but Liam Neeson was still up to par, as I enjoyed him doing what he does best. I couldI was indeed wary that this might be not up to standards of the first film, but when I saw it, I thought it was better. It was a ridiculous storyline, but Liam Neeson was still up to par, as I enjoyed him doing what he does best. I could empathise with the characters properly, as I felt I was much more comfortable with Kim being a stronger character than in the last film, while the rest of the cast were still fully capable of committing to the plot. The ending certainly proved better worth than the previous film's ending.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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3

bosnianNov 12, 2012

Where as the first one succeeds in keeping you at the edge of your seat as you are watching a race against the time and have no idea where the movie will be going next, part 2 is predictable, over the top, run of the mill sequel that failsWhere as the first one succeeds in keeping you at the edge of your seat as you are watching a race against the time and have no idea where the movie will be going next, part 2 is predictable, over the top, run of the mill sequel that fails much more often then it succeeds. Favorite bit from the movie - daughter is struggling trying to get her licence. 2 weeks later she is racing like a maniac through narrow streets of Istanbul in a Mercedes with a manual.… Expand

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6

tropicAcesOct 13, 2012

Like "The Hangover: Part II" this is basically the same movie just in a different city. But after the first choppy and close up action scene I really enjoyed myself. It's just one of those films that you watch simply to watch, and will forgetLike "The Hangover: Part II" this is basically the same movie just in a different city. But after the first choppy and close up action scene I really enjoyed myself. It's just one of those films that you watch simply to watch, and will forget about it the moment you step out of the theater. It's not an awful movie, but it's clear this was a cash grab.… Expand

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10

waveriderOct 9, 2012

Having read the poor reviews but rarely disappointed by Neesom I forced myself to stay positive while wondering all the way until the movie started. I must say that from beginning to end I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. TheHaving read the poor reviews but rarely disappointed by Neesom I forced myself to stay positive while wondering all the way until the movie started. I must say that from beginning to end I could not have been more pleasantly surprised. The writing, plot, action, but, without a doubt the acting, all around, was as good as it gets. Besides Neesom's commanding presence the supporting cast was absolutely stellar. If you gave Taken 1 a 10 as it deserved this one would rate a 12 or 13. Do yourselves a favor and do not listen to those panning the film - they very obviously have some ulterior agenda to support. This movie will give you the emotional ride we all deserve when paying these exorbitant ticket prices.… Expand

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8

KronoNov 24, 2012

Liam Neeson stars in Taken 2, revisiting Brian Mills, the former intelligence agent with terrible luck. The first movie was a well-crafted bloodbath with elements of revenge, brutality and also cleverness. The second didn't disappoint on anyLiam Neeson stars in Taken 2, revisiting Brian Mills, the former intelligence agent with terrible luck. The first movie was a well-crafted bloodbath with elements of revenge, brutality and also cleverness. The second didn't disappoint on any counts. The family of the human trafficker that was the antagonist of the previous film opens the movie with a somber funeral scene. The Albanian trafficker's father vows vengeance against the American. When Brian, Lenny and Kim travel to Istanbul on vacation, the Albanians capture Brian and Lenny and Kim narrowly escapes. "Your mother and I are going to be taken." This line spoken by Liam Neeson's character received some negative reactions, but it outlines the reason that there was a second film, so I think it was important. Throughout the rest of the film, Neeson's character demonstrates both courage and quick thinking in a convincing role with natural talent. Major elements of the plot seem to parallel with Neeson's previous film roles, and with previous action films in general, but most will find this movie acutely entertaining and exciting.

8/10 for Taken 2, a traditional but masterfully crafted action flick.… Expand

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0

aciphexOct 8, 2014

This may be the worst sequel ever made...everything that made the first movie good like the gritty realism in the hand to hand fighting, and the short and sweet gunfights that weren't over the top and essential turned the film into a polarThis may be the worst sequel ever made...everything that made the first movie good like the gritty realism in the hand to hand fighting, and the short and sweet gunfights that weren't over the top and essential turned the film into a polar opposite of itself...of course now the studio assumes anything liam neeson will do is gold, they were wrong..
Now i can't tell if he cares more about getting his ex wife Back or his daughters driving lessons..
sigh... its hard to accurately sum up all the misfires in this movie becuase the entire film feels forced...nothing is believeable and by the end you don't care who lives or dies Collaps… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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8

scottysauceOct 6, 2012

I thought was a good movie and not as great as the first of course but I wasn't expecting it. It had a good amount of action but of course I wanted a lot more. At an hour and a half it goes by way too quick so this is one movie I could sitI thought was a good movie and not as great as the first of course but I wasn't expecting it. It had a good amount of action but of course I wanted a lot more. At an hour and a half it goes by way too quick so this is one movie I could sit through longer. It also had a large cheese factor I could've did without with the extra family moments at the end and my goodness can his daughter handle herself under insane amounts of pressure. She's damn great with maps and directions, driving in strange countries without passing a driving test and she can sure throw those grenades. I really wish there was a better finish with the bad guy as well. What the heck and how the heck did he kill him? That was too quick. I wasn't a huge fan of the camera shots moving around so quickly either with those fight scenes in this one but they were still good. I would see it again and as a fan of the first you gotta enjoy this one too. I admit it had some stressful moments.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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10

MisterKSOct 6, 2012

This movie rocks!! BIG TIME! It's a real crowd-pleaser. Don't listen to the negative reviews. If you love the first, you will love the second. It's a solid sequel. Great Job!

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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5

GreatMartinOct 5, 2012

Walking into

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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0

ascoltami86May 27, 2013

I dislike almost all his movies, The Grey, Taken, Clash of the Titans, Wrath of the Titans, Battleship Unknown The A-Team, The Dark Knight Rises, The Chronicles of Narnia 1,2,3.

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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0

imthenoobJun 14, 2016

Totally needless sequel. The only difference is the wife gets kidnapped this time. It's so poorly written and acted and every action scene is pretty much copied and pasted from the first film.

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

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6

MarcDoyleNov 1, 2012

It's a fairly routine story, but Neeson and Grace do a nice job as action-hero and action-hero's willing acolyte-daughter. Grace has actually come a long way since her Lost days - her likeability has increased in a significant way. And sheIt's a fairly routine story, but Neeson and Grace do a nice job as action-hero and action-hero's willing acolyte-daughter. Grace has actually come a long way since her Lost days - her likeability has increased in a significant way. And she just pops on the screen. I thought that the crux of the story was given short shrift. "I don't care that my son was a horrible kidnapper - your blood must flow through the hills of my home town because you killed him!" It lacked a certain righteous indignation. Tough to get behind his massive endeavor here. And the minor twist at the end, if you can call it that? So predictable. Should have been omitted. A good time, but nothing extremely special.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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6

Andys_ReviewsSep 8, 2013

A well shot film making full use of its surroundings, Istanbul in this case. Well paced with the level action keeping the adrenalin pumping almost from the start. The performances were all very good although I felt nobody was particularlyA well shot film making full use of its surroundings, Istanbul in this case. Well paced with the level action keeping the adrenalin pumping almost from the start. The performances were all very good although I felt nobody was particularly stretched. Liam Neeson was his usual self as Bryan Mills, Maggie Grace was good as daughter Kim, as was Famke Janssen as wife Lenore. Also worthy of note was Rade Serbedzija as major bad guy, Murad Krasniqi. It was ok as a piece of entertainment but I felt it didn’t do anything the first film didn’t. You usually expect a sequel to expand on the story of the first but this one virtually told the same story but with a couple of alterations. It seemed like the studio (Fox) were just out to cash in on the success of the first one. I’m just glad I didn’t go and watch it in a cinema but still, if you want entertainment that won’t stretch the little grey cells to much, then this is the one for you.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED (Just)

My score: 6.3/10.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

eliteco3Feb 23, 2013

an obvious money grab of a movie. The plot meanders to a point where the flick is simply not believable. The action scenes and pace of the movie are enjoyable.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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7

gromitOct 8, 2012

I loved the first Taken movie, this movie was really just a repeat of the first but a little less enjoyable and much more predictable. Still given the range of crap that has been at the movies lately it was an enjoyable outing.

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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7

sinadoomDec 21, 2013

Cliché, predictable, short and simple. If someone asked "What is the definition of a standard American movie?" it would be this. But make no mistake; despite being a carbon copy of just about everything, it still delivers. It achieves what itCliché, predictable, short and simple. If someone asked "What is the definition of a standard American movie?" it would be this. But make no mistake; despite being a carbon copy of just about everything, it still delivers. It achieves what it set out to do. No, it's not a Bourne film nor is it trying to be. The thing about Taken and Taken 2 is how they take a very basic background and make it come to life. Sure, there's nothing out of the ordinary or new or surprising. But to be honest, it's not always a bad thing. Taken 2 has action, it has suspense and it genuinely delivers a very intense 89 minutes. It's one of those films where you lean forward if you know what I mean. I wouldn't say it improves on the original, but is just as good.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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7

dharmaDec 30, 2012

I was a big fan of the first TAKEN, which I consider one of the best action flicks in recent years. However, I am as skeptical for this sequel. It's gotta be crap and cynical money making venture to say the least. However, I was pleasantlyI was a big fan of the first TAKEN, which I consider one of the best action flicks in recent years. However, I am as skeptical for this sequel. It's gotta be crap and cynical money making venture to say the least. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. Let's get the negative side of things first: a derivative storyline, this time it's the parents who got kidnapped (WOW!). The positive side: Liam Neeson. Pure and simple, he imbues a certain charisma in his role and he has great chemistry with his co-stars. The action sequences are pretty good and on par with the original. At the end of the day, see TAKEN 2 as 21st century facelift of an 70's/80's Action sub genre: the revenge pics, popularised by the Death Wish series and the like. It's a B-movie, with no 'fat' (AHEM..Bourne Legacy..)… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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6

StevenFMay 19, 2013

Why not make a sequel to one of the surprises of 2008? There's plenty more happening in the second outing for Bryan Mills, the retired CIA man who is obsessive, vigilant and on time precisely to the minute he said he would be.
But what theWhy not make a sequel to one of the surprises of 2008? There's plenty more happening in the second outing for Bryan Mills, the retired CIA man who is obsessive, vigilant and on time precisely to the minute he said he would be.
But what the films premise does is bring an idea which so many other films leave out of the occasion, all the bad guys that are gunned down yet nobody seems to care about them? Incorrect in Taken 2. A mass funeral is being held for the unfortunate men who crossed Bryan in the first film, and revenge is on the agenda for the families of those he killed. But back in LA, Bryan is steadily moving closer to his ex- wife Lenore, played again by the beautiful Famke Janssen, while also continuing his overbearing but respected father routine to Kim Maggie Grace).
When he invites the two of them to Istanbul while he guards a Sheik, things take a turn when Bryan and Lenore are are out. Through careful instructions to his eventually safe daughter, he manages to work out where he and his ex-wife are being held, the process by which he does this may raise a few eyebrows..but it's quite a cleverly constructed scene that certainly gets all the characters more involved in this sequel.
No, it isn't as good as the first, but saying that it shouldn't entirely be viewed as a sequel, each character is given more involvement in this film to the point where it isn't entirely necessary to have seen the first, this perhaps may be a good thing because this isn't as engaging or surprising, we already know what lengths Bryan will go to, we know what he is capable of and quite frankly we don't see this sort of side to him in this film.
It's not so much a remake but maybe even a continuation without actually being a sequel. The same sort of edginess is gone and replaced with an array of doubling back efforts and countless chases, the emotional depth from the plot of the first film involving Kim being sold as a prostitute is gone, we no longer need to feel for these characters but just seem to be lead to enjoy the film without thinking about it.
Still a decent action flick with plenty to smile and talk about, but the film ultimately doesn't reach the surprising heights its predecessor did, much of the flare is gone, but again, worth a look anyway.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

lasttimeisawOct 9, 2012

Feeling listless in a lacklustre season for cinema-goers, I simply yearn for the smell of the multiplex and it had been almost one month since my last visit, so TAKEN 2 has been singled out in view of that I had a mildly positive viewing fromFeeling listless in a lacklustre season for cinema-goers, I simply yearn for the smell of the multiplex and it had been almost one month since my last visit, so TAKEN 2 has been singled out in view of that I had a mildly positive viewing from its first one (TAKEN 2008, 7/10), and action-packed thriller will at least not be a bore (a sad truth is that here is so difficult to find non-dubbed animation features, otherwise the selection would be much wider).

Being an emblematic sequel relying on the same gambit and stunts to pass through its running time, TAKEN 2 can hardly be called satisfactory, thanks to the rapid editing and effective camera rotation (another tact being overdone here), the gawky Liam Neeson still can render a patina of a sleek special agent, all his moves are pertinent and deadly fatal, nevertheless, reaching 60-year-old, perhaps his next invitation (apart from TAKEN 3, according to its groundbreaking first weekend bravura, a sequel is undoubtedly on the slate now) will be sent from Stallion's THE EXPENDABLES tawdries, and one thing is for sure, he will not be the oldest. Maggie Grace and Famke Jansen both have earned more screen-time, but hardly have any decent time to be composed enough to deliver some jolly one-liners. The plain storyline has efficaciously implemented the genre fun in the most predictable manner (also an over-simplified one), for example, the special knacks (throwing the grenades among the shacks, counting the seconds to remember the route of the vehicle while being blindfolded) required to locate the whereabouts are too far-fetched since Istanbul is not a remote village and most of the time, the whole scheme is made deliberately to facilitate the film to justify itself, screenwriters (Besson is implicated) simply don't care much to the details and the suspense has never been concocted absorbingly, no matter how many Albanian villains are mercilessly iced by our hero, himself, his ex-wife and daughter's safety has never been severely endangered, so supposedly all the pleasure should be derived from the unnecessary killing of the ferocious but mostly marginalised Albanian avengers, what's the point then?

Director Olivier Megaton is an action genre journeyman (COLOMBIANA, 2011; TRANSPORTER 3, 2008, 4/10), but this time it… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

beingryanjudeSep 2, 2014

Taken 2 takes everything we loved from the original film and... does it again. I will admit portions were fresh and still riveting. Regardless, this sequel falls in the shadows of its precursor.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

RealMuthaFApr 27, 2013

Not only this sequel is unnecessary, it lacks all that which made the original outstanding. What was the original Taken about in the first place? It was about Liam Neeson kicking some serious ass in a very realistic and believable way. HereNot only this sequel is unnecessary, it lacks all that which made the original outstanding. What was the original Taken about in the first place? It was about Liam Neeson kicking some serious ass in a very realistic and believable way. Here it seems like it's not Neeson himself, but his double or something. The fight scenes are awkward, poorly staged and feature an honest-to-god awful operator job, where you can''t really make out a single freaking thing. What's more, the dialogues are stupid and (in my opinion, at least) poorly acted out. The final nails in the coffin are bloody disgusting CG effects (I almost vomited at that car explosion) and the dumbass main villain. The thing is, the answer to this quality drop is quite obvious the director changed. Now it's Olivier Megaton, the f**khead who brought us Transporter-3, it makes sense. So please, if there'll be yet another unwanted sequel, either make it straight-to-DVD so I won't even hear of it or return Pierre Morel to the director's seat.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

theahsanhaseebDec 20, 2012

Well. Well. Well. So many negative reviews and whatnot. Maybe this is because people didn't get anything new to see and there was not much of a slight suspense element which the first installment had. Whatever the case was, I am going to beWell. Well. Well. So many negative reviews and whatnot. Maybe this is because people didn't get anything new to see and there was not much of a slight suspense element which the first installment had. Whatever the case was, I am going to be totally honest here. I actually enjoyed watching the movie, it wasn't as great as the first one but, without a doubt, it is a good pastime. It isn't boring at all. Action sequences seem a little too over-stylish but overall, Taken 2 is a good film. Taken is a kind of film that doesn't need a sequel and I don't know why they made it, and they're in talks to make another one as well, who would be taken in that one? All three of them? And maybe they'll get killed this time for real. I'm up for another sequel if they come up with much, much better ideas and plot than Taken and Taken 2 combined. I always watch Liam Neeson's films because he is one of my very favorite actors and his performance never disappoints me, that's a plus point for this film. Of course, there are so many plotholes, some of them seem annoying like the one in US Embassy, that's ridiculous! In addition, the thing that annoyed me the most was that in the film, Kim is going through rooftops and throwing grenades and nobody gives a **** That's plain stupid. Long story short, if you still have to watch the film, don't expect much from it. I didn't and that worked for me. Well, almost!… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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6

lcmlolOct 9, 2012

it is better than i thought, quite enjoyable during the watch, good casting and action scenes. the only downside is i always think the phoenix girl gonna go mad and kill em all, lol, just kidding:)

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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6

kuyamatt26Oct 10, 2012

Taken 2, Like Taken (1) is really just an action packed movie whose protagonist never really fails. Liam Neeson's character (Bryan Mills) is just...super-human, and that's the problem with the movie, Bryan never really develops as a characterTaken 2, Like Taken (1) is really just an action packed movie whose protagonist never really fails. Liam Neeson's character (Bryan Mills) is just...super-human, and that's the problem with the movie, Bryan never really develops as a character so there is no real sense of "Wow! He actually did it" Knowing that he just kills everyone in his way. Overall the plot was spot-on but character development is the only thing that hindered Taken 2's overall score.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

barnet42Oct 15, 2012

The original "Taken" was a classic example of a guilty pleasure film, that somehow ceased to be guilty because so many people found pleasure in it. "Taken 2", with its incomprehensible action sequences and a script possibly dumber than theThe original "Taken" was a classic example of a guilty pleasure film, that somehow ceased to be guilty because so many people found pleasure in it. "Taken 2", with its incomprehensible action sequences and a script possibly dumber than the first, will be far more of a guilty pleasure, as it never reaches the hilarious heights of the first one's Neeson rampage. Even so, the main reason the first one was such a success was that we got to see Neeson kill everyone while playing it completely straight, and that's still present here. There's even an interesting inversion of the first film's premise at one point. "Taken 2" is stupider than the first film, but luckily for this series, being stupid is one of its advantages.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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6

ReaIistiCOct 9, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good Film but not as good as the first one. Really enjoyed the first half of the movie but goes downhill from there. The last scene when he Killed the Father was a bit stupid as he just pushed him.. and also when he leaves his wife in the room where they are capruted… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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4

xFezziwigNov 12, 2012

The whole time I was watching this movie I was waiting for the next big action scene. All I saw was a bunch of Liam Neeson chasing around his ex wife. An extremely disappointing sequel to a movie I really enjoyed.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

tipsandthoughtsOct 13, 2012

I gave it a 6 as i am a sucker for a well produced action flick that clearly delineates good vs evil. Has to suspend brain a few too many times ( for instance when the daughter was driving a stick Mercedes like a Grand Prix racer...yet sheI gave it a 6 as i am a sucker for a well produced action flick that clearly delineates good vs evil. Has to suspend brain a few too many times ( for instance when the daughter was driving a stick Mercedes like a Grand Prix racer...yet she can't seem to get her license in the states), as well as the overall rationale for the blood revenge. Also, I thought there would one more plot twist...besides the daughter getting her license.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

ChazzerNov 4, 2012

What Taken 2 does do is run as your average, run-of-the-mill action film, and it does this very well. The action is fantastic, with Neeson surprisingly able for someone who just turned 60 in June. Sure, the fighting, running-and-gunningWhat Taken 2 does do is run as your average, run-of-the-mill action film, and it does this very well. The action is fantastic, with Neeson surprisingly able for someone who just turned 60 in June. Sure, the fighting, running-and-gunning aspect of Taken 2 does take a while to get going, but when it does, it plays out very well. The acting is also excellent in places; Neeson is flawless as ever, as is Maggie Grace, playing the innocent daughter that was abducted in the first film. Rade … Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

theWrathNov 5, 2012

Taken 2 is not really a movie were you need a sequel. For me its a one liner. Its like making Titanic 2!? It runs out in cliches and do the same stuff he does in the first part. Its a okay action movie. If you can get the dvd for 5$, do itTaken 2 is not really a movie were you need a sequel. For me its a one liner. Its like making Titanic 2!? It runs out in cliches and do the same stuff he does in the first part. Its a okay action movie. If you can get the dvd for 5$, do it and watch it. But i don't think you'll watch it a multiple times.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

cameronmorewoodNov 12, 2012

Heart-breakingly bad. 'Taken' wasn't meant to have a sequel for a reason, and this is it.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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3

BetterThanRingoJan 23, 2013

To be fair, when I heard there was going to be a second Taken I was very skeptical. Taken was a great film, but Taken 2? One of the worst experiences of sitting through a movie I have witnessed. Not only is the story line boring, and a littleTo be fair, when I heard there was going to be a second Taken I was very skeptical. Taken was a great film, but Taken 2? One of the worst experiences of sitting through a movie I have witnessed. Not only is the story line boring, and a little stupid, but it rushes and before I knew it we were at the end of the movie. I didn't find myself understanding the motive behind kidnapping Neeson's ex-wife in the film played by Famke Janssen. Yeah, okay, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) killed your son, but your son also kidnapped numerous American female tourists and forced them into prostitution. It didn't make a lot of sense to me. On top of this the acting performances were putrid at best. The only thing I can appraise is Taken 2's use of Mills', "specific skills," along with with the small action based scenes. This movie was clearly made for profit, but they should have put some quality work into it is all that I'm saying.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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1

HaithamBayazeedJan 6, 2013

Why! It was a great movie, why ruin it with this piece of **** Only the acting is good! Nothing else, not all sequels are good sometimes terrible follow great! This is one of great to terrible, two thumbs down!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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7

PoliSci0621Jan 10, 2013

Taken 2 lacks the creativity and originality that made the first one extremely popular. It seemed as if the writers tried to reapply the exact same formula from the first movie into the second. As a result, the movie seemed uneven at timesTaken 2 lacks the creativity and originality that made the first one extremely popular. It seemed as if the writers tried to reapply the exact same formula from the first movie into the second. As a result, the movie seemed uneven at times and since the originality was stale this had a profound effect on the story-line and plot. Additionally, as usual Liam Neeson pulled off his convincing and bad-ass role as Bryan Mills. However, through certain parts of the film he seemed exhausted and tired which is uncharacteristic of the character he was intended to play. The other actors, specifically Maggie Grace and Famke Jansse, were fantastic in their roles. Overall, too many concepts were recycled and it would have been better if the writers had developed a more action-packed and thought provoking film rather than a relatively expensive, $45 million to be exact, knock off.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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3

BreakingBradJan 24, 2013

Taken 2 is a sequel that ignored everything that was so much fun about the first movie, and decided to be a predictable waste of cash. I was a big fan of the first film because it was simple entertainment and Liam Neeson was perfect for theTaken 2 is a sequel that ignored everything that was so much fun about the first movie, and decided to be a predictable waste of cash. I was a big fan of the first film because it was simple entertainment and Liam Neeson was perfect for the role, but now they have done the exact same thing all over again, but now he has brought his ex-wife into the mix. When I first heard they were going to make a sequel to Taken I was kind of excited because I hoped they would make it as fun as the first one, but sadly I was wrong. It does give some fun action scenes and Liam Neeson is still great in the role, but it does not make up for its pathetic story that was just an excuse to make some cash off the entertaining first movie. I mean we all have seen sequels that Hollywood only made to earn some cash, but here we see a movie that took absolutely no effort to write or think about. I think the writers just said "how can we take a fun movie and make a sequel that has no reason to exist" and they created this dull and lazy sequel. I didn't enjoy this sequel, and it depresses me that they took away everything that I loved about the first movie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

BrianMcCriticMar 10, 2013

I found this film to be just stupid. From the grenade throwing to the driving scenes to the pointless villains, there needed to be a different script. Liam Neeson is still good here, but I could have done with less of the family.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

joeyriosApr 9, 2013

Well, you know, the first was great, but as usual sequels go on, this movie got me to think at one time "Does this even have a point?". It was kind of stupid, honestly, but because of the action sequences it brings, I'm gonna give it a 4, notWell, you know, the first was great, but as usual sequels go on, this movie got me to think at one time "Does this even have a point?". It was kind of stupid, honestly, but because of the action sequences it brings, I'm gonna give it a 4, not to give it the red label.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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2

AReviewsJun 25, 2013

I went expecting smart, original and new storytelling, with epic action sequences and suspense, but what I got was Taken repeating itself in Taken 2, there is some clever parts, but it can't rescue the movie from falling apart.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

3

FranzHcriticJul 10, 2015

I just found this film more hyperbolic and unbelievable than it should have been. 'Taken' as a pseudo-revenge flick just doesn't work, and the acting is more wooden that the first. This simply isn't a good action film. More cash grab thanI just found this film more hyperbolic and unbelievable than it should have been. 'Taken' as a pseudo-revenge flick just doesn't work, and the acting is more wooden that the first. This simply isn't a good action film. More cash grab than genuine thrills and suspense, like the first, however typical the first one was.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

MovieGuysFeb 1, 2015

Although not as engaging as the first one, Taken 2 is more of the same, in a good way. Fans of the original will definitely be pleased with this sequel that is far better than it has any right to be.

However, there are some things thatAlthough not as engaging as the first one, Taken 2 is more of the same, in a good way. Fans of the original will definitely be pleased with this sequel that is far better than it has any right to be.

However, there are some things that drag it down a bit. The biggest problem is the director, Olivier Megaton, who shouldn't be allowed to make movies. Him and the editor can't just let the shot be and let the actors act. Every .5 seconds, the frame changes, and by the end of the scene it feels like a workout, not to mention strain on the eyes. Another issue that I'm sure has offended many Istanbul residents is that the director and screenplay assumes that Turkey is a Muslim state. Every woman is seen covered in black, and all the men have beards like Pilgrims. It is to be noted that not all of Istanbul is like this, and the movie narrows in on this fact too much.

Overall, Taken 2 is a pretty good sequel, considering how they could've screwed this up. The plot angle isn't the most original, but it will do. I'm just not looking forward to seeing Taken 3, by the same misguided director.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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3

SavileLovedMeOct 18, 2013

About 40 minutes into this film I was presented with an unexpected but not entirely unwelcome choice: I could either carry on with the film or start watching my old fart of a neighbour paint his decking through my living room window. SteveAbout 40 minutes into this film I was presented with an unexpected but not entirely unwelcome choice: I could either carry on with the film or start watching my old fart of a neighbour paint his decking through my living room window. Steve went for a 'rich teak' Ronseal coat. No regrets.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

rafingal23Dec 23, 2013

This movie was disappointed. I can't believe that I was pulled from solving Mathematical equations to go and watch this. This movie needed more and a proper finish.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

All this user's reviews

3

PvtJacksonJan 18, 2014

This is a lazy, shallow and boring sequel to the original impressive Taken. The entire film is filled with nothing but pure shooting and killing which, to be honest, can't be compared to any of Steven Seagal's action movies. TheThis is a lazy, shallow and boring sequel to the original impressive Taken. The entire film is filled with nothing but pure shooting and killing which, to be honest, can't be compared to any of Steven Seagal's action movies. The heart-touching element that made Taken successful was completely missing in Taken 2, which obviously led to a total disgraceful failure that no one should ever wasted time on.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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3

FilmVirtueFeb 14, 2014

Not nearly as enjoyable and thrilling as the first film. It seems like the addition sequel was unnecessary and pointless. Not on every aspect of the film though.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

jacked_beastOct 4, 2014

This movie is way worse than the original. The plot was super weak. The action sequences were well done but that's about it. Hopefully Taken 3 will be better.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

3

diogomendesDec 16, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I enjoyed the first Taken movie quite a lot. It had energetic action, fine performances and an intensely entertaining story, BUT, the plot was simple. So it comes as a surprise that there is a sequel to that movie, and boy, what a bland movie seriously. Everything that it was good about the first film is no longer here, other than a typically solid performance from Liam Neeson.

The retired CIA agent Bryan Mills invites his teenage daughter Kim and his ex-wife Lenore, who has separated from her second husband, to spend a couple of days in Istanbul where he is working. Meanwhile, the patriarch of the community of the Albanian gang of human trafficking, Murad Krasniqi, seeks revenge for the death of his son and organizes another gang to kidnap Bryan and his family. Bryan and Lenore are abducted by the Albanians, but Kim escapes and is the only hope that Bryan has to escape and save Lenore.

I have to give this movie credit that it's entertaining to some extent, but like I said in my reviews (if you don't read my reviews, please go check it out, they're pretty accurate), a movie being "entertaining" is not enough to fulfill a moviegoer's expectation. In fact, after seeing this movie, I felt... nothing. The movie is so empty and so incoherent that makes me feel nothing. You don't know if the movie has a final act because it's basically this: The guy kidnaps his wife, 5 minutes later Liam Neeson finds her, kills the goons and rescues her. That's it? Nothing else? Pfff. And look, if you wanna go see this movie just because of the villain, you might wanna rethink about it because the antagonist is so underdeveloped. Honestly, I could describe the villain completely in 5 words: A guy who wants revenge.

If you enjoyed the first one, I'm pretty sure you'll hate this one because even the action here becomes repetitive therefore, dull. Liam Neeson does his best but he can't save this utter crap from an incoherently empty story, monotonous action and an underwritten villain. God, this movie does suck.

Next Taken movie: The villain's son arrives to kill Liam Neeson by stealing his toothpaste.… Expand

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6

ydnar4Mar 16, 2015

Taken 2 is not a bad movie, its just not a good one. Taken 2 is just another example of trying to capitalize on the success of the original movie and sadly this film earned enough money at the box office for the third film to be released. TheTaken 2 is not a bad movie, its just not a good one. Taken 2 is just another example of trying to capitalize on the success of the original movie and sadly this film earned enough money at the box office for the third film to be released. The action in this movie is pretty good but its plot does not draw you in like the first movie did. Liam Neeson never seems venerable throughout the movie. I understand that Taken is the role that earned him his reputation as an action star but I think he should continue to collaborate with director Jaume Collet-Serra like he has with Non-Stop and the new release Run All Night.… Expand

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3

vikesh2206Mar 12, 2015

Retreading the first movie minus the finesse, the generic action revenge tale Taken 2 is a dull and boring affair. Even Liam Neeson can't save the movie this time.

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4

NerdConsultantJan 7, 2015

Taken 2 may not be as bad as some people have made it out to be but it is a serious downgrade from the original. i may have asked for a bigger villain and while it does deliver he and his team are really stupid villains and feel completelyTaken 2 may not be as bad as some people have made it out to be but it is a serious downgrade from the original. i may have asked for a bigger villain and while it does deliver he and his team are really stupid villains and feel completely implausible. the action sequences aren't great and the plot doesn't have the same weight of dread the first did and even succumbs to a few plot holes when it isn't lazily repeating the first film… Expand

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5

Arthur_S_PoeFeb 21, 2015

Unlike the first installment, 'Taken 2' has added a lot to the negative side and has not elevated its predecessor one bit. Although the Oriental setting and the vendetta-driven plot are quite appealing, the movie actually repeats itself in aUnlike the first installment, 'Taken 2' has added a lot to the negative side and has not elevated its predecessor one bit. Although the Oriental setting and the vendetta-driven plot are quite appealing, the movie actually repeats itself in a variety of ways, also adding some quite laughable moments to the whole series. Liam Neeson is still strong and Rade Šerbedžija made a perfect pair for him, although the acting does keep a certain level of quality. With most of the complaints going towards the screenwriters, 'Taken 2' is a watchable action movie and, sadly, nothing more.… Expand

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2

MovieManiac83Apr 22, 2015

In the surprise 2009 box-office smash “Taken,’’ Liam Neeson played a retired CIA operative who rescues his teenage daughter from Albanian white slavers and then goes all Mel Gibson on the culprits.
In the inevitable — if far less excitingIn the surprise 2009 box-office smash “Taken,’’ Liam Neeson played a retired CIA operative who rescues his teenage daughter from Albanian white slavers and then goes all Mel Gibson on the culprits.
In the inevitable — if far less exciting and vastly sillier — sequel, Neeson quickly loses the daughter (Maggie Grace, clearly pushing 30 in real life) again on a trip to Istanbul, where life is cheap and the movie production subsidies are generous.
A bunch of Albanians (led by Rade Serbedzija) want revenge on Neeson for killing and torturing their relatives in the first film.
At various points they also kidnap Neeson and Neeson’s estranged wife (Famke Janssen, whose double spends most of the movie with a sack on her head).
But these truly inept killers never manage to hold onto the entire clan at the same time.
In the interest of advancing the plot, the idiotic bad guys conveniently ignore barking dogs and other warning signs that Neeson or the daughter are approaching, as well as the miniature cellphone Neeson uses to repeatedly communicate with the daughter while in captivity.
“Act casually,’’ he advises her in a truly hilarious sequence — sending the young woman out to toss grenades off Turkish rooftops so he can use the sound of the explosions to help direct her to where he’s being held.
There are other indications that screenwriters Robert Mark Kamen (“The Karate Kid’’) and Luc Besson (who also produced this one) didn’t necessarily want the audience to take “Taken 2’’ as seriously as, say, “Taken.’’
Like when the daughter — who has failed her driving test back in California twice — takes the wheel in a high-speed chase through narrow twisting streets to elude the killers, while dad is directing her to ignore scurrying pedestrians.
This sort of approach has diminishing returns in an alleged thriller: There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot at stake in a movie where you can crash your way through the armed barricades at the American embassy with a stolen taxicab and survive without a scratch.
Four years ago, there was novelty value in seeing an actor with Neeson’s gravitas turning mad action hero. But Neeson’s done it several times since, with diminishing returns, in other paycheck jobs.
Olivier Megaton, the wonderfully named Besson protégé who directed, stages action sequences clumsily and edits them so frantically it looks like the whole movie was run through a Cuisinart.
When Neeson engages in bare-knuckle fisticuffs at the climax of the cartoonish “Taken 2,’’ I honestly couldn’t figure out if the 60-year-old actor was actually present at all except for the close-ups.

It's Rubbish.… Expand

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2

moviemayhemApr 28, 2015

When Taken hit screens in 2008, it benefitted from the shock of the new. Not that its content looked particularly novel. Executive producer and co-writer Luc Besson had already spent a couple of decades turning out serviceable-or-betterWhen Taken hit screens in 2008, it benefitted from the shock of the new. Not that its content looked particularly novel. Executive producer and co-writer Luc Besson had already spent a couple of decades turning out serviceable-or-better Eurothrillers made in the model he helped create with films like La Femme Nikita. The shock came from the star doing the Eurothrilling: Liam Neeson, an actor of the first order, known for exuding introspective gentleness. Neeson was the last person most would think to cast as a pitiless killing machine, but there he was, carving his way through the Paris underworld in search of his suspiciously mature-looking teenage daughter (Maggie Grace), who’d been abducted by the sex slavers who apparently run rampant in the City Of Light.

Part of what makes Taken so entertaining, albeit sometimes unintentionally, is the way it portrays Europe as a pit of sin filled with snares for unsuspecting American innocents abroad. (Kind of like a Henry James novel, but with a lot more forced prostitution.) The rest of its appeal comes from the unapologetic simplicity of its plot, its propulsive pace, and the way Neeson took to both, bringing unsmiling gravity to what could have been a dull role. Since then, the shock has worn off. Neeson continued to explore the action world in films that are striking (The Grey), dull (Unknown), or perfunctory (The A-Team). This, it seems, is what Neeson does now, and his return to his Taken role offers few surprises.

The film also lacks the efficiency and relentlessness of the original. Back in the States and mending fences with ex-wife Famke Janssen and Grace, Neeson seems more worried about his daughter’s dating habits than the possibility of the Albanian father of one of the first film’s villains targeting him for revenge. That, it turns out, is a mistake, as is Janssen and Grace’s decision to join Neeson in Istanbul, where he has a few days to himself after finishing a security detail. What begins as a family outing, with a hint of rekindled romance between the parents, devolves into kidnapping (the word “taken” gets thrown about liberally), torture, high-speed chases, and other misadventures probably not smiled upon by the Turkish Board Of Tourism.

None of it is particularly novel or exciting. Stepping in for Pierre Morel, Olivier Megaton (The Transporter 3) brings a workmanlike, mostly coherent approach to the action scenes, and there’s a clever sequence in which Neeson helps Grace find him through a crude form of echolocation involving a map, a felt-tip pen, and some hand grenades. The only real innovation is in making Neeson’s adventure a family affair, but that mostly involves making him bark driving instructions at Grace as they tear through Istanbul’s obstacle-strewn, chase-friendly streets. Otherwise, it’s business as usual for the Besson machine, distinguished only by the star working the levers. Neeson’s Jason Statham-ization continues apace, but it’s looking less and less like a welcome development.… Expand

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7

IAmTechJun 18, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. How can the same sh*t happen to the same guy twice? get a new line of work maybe. Neeson is back and he's badder than before, well not really but he still kicks ass at his ripe old age and he hasn't forgotten his black leather coat either.

Follow up to the very good original and your first thoughts are is this really needed? The first film was a kind of slick 'Ronin' kick ass machine but can you really do the same again without it being a rehash? well yes and no.

Its a nice idea that we see the aftermath of what the hero did in the last film. He kills all the bad guys and saves the day, but what about those baddie henchmen he bagged? what about their families and friends? no one really wonders how they would feel and its not been explored too much. So this plot about one particular bad guys family (father) wanting revenge on Neeson's character is kinda neat but also kinda stretched. If you think about it the concept could just go on and on, every bad guy killed having one of their family members coming after the hero for revenge.

There are quite a few silly moments in this film I must admit. For a start Neeson's character works out where he is pretty quickly after he's been kidnapped. So before you know it he's contacted his daughter with his trusty batphone thingy hidden in his sock (of course) and well on the way to be rescued, job done, film over then.

The sequence where he instructs his daughter to throw grenades left right n centre so he can listen for the explosion and calculate where he is, is also rather daft. Surely live grenades going off in downtown Istanbul might raise some alerts? wouldn't anyone hear this? if Mills can hear it in his dank prison surely other folk at street level can hear it no?

That also leads to the fact that when Mills is kidnapped it appears that he and his wife are driven quite a long distance away, possibly out of the city. We then learn through the grenade throwing sequence that he is in fact not very far away a tall, almost around the corner actually. His daughter can virtually see where he's been taken from the rooftop for gods sake!

Then there is the car chase which again is very 'Ronin' like in style and visuals. Now this chase is actually very good and very well done, I enjoyed it a lot, kudos. Thing is, Mills daughter can't drive, we know this from earlier in the film. Americans tend to drive automatic cars, the Merc they both escape in is a manual, but somehow this doesn't stop Mills daughter managing to drive this Euro manual like a rally driver through the narrow bustling streets of Istanbul.

Oh and Mills manages to find his wife pretty quickly and easily towards the end too, just a stroll in the park, blip! your dead. Unfortunately we also discover that the main bad guy Murad has two sons who will come after Mills if he is killed, so I guess that's 'Taken 3' then.

Despite all the silly bits and the fact the whole plot is weak and not really important, I did actually enjoy this film quite a bit. The visuals are glossy with good editing, sound and camera work, score does the trick nicely and of course the acting isn't too shabby either. I have read a lot of negative reviews for this film but I can't see why really. Sure its not as good or original as the first film but you get what you pay for.

Neeson **** slapping balding unshaven Eastern European bad guys, a slamming car chase and all created with smooth eye popping French (yes French!) va va voom.… Expand

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6

TyranianApr 14, 2019

If you like Neeson you'll enjoy this second film, which is more of the same.

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6

Meth-dudeAug 7, 2018

While this sequel is even more bland, predictable and cliché than the first opus, it's still a pretty entertaining movie. The acting is a little bit better, the action sequences, while not being that well done are still fairly enjoyable andWhile this sequel is even more bland, predictable and cliché than the first opus, it's still a pretty entertaining movie. The acting is a little bit better, the action sequences, while not being that well done are still fairly enjoyable and the final stand off between Neeson and the main villain is great. If you liked the first Taken, you will probably enjoy this sequel.… Expand

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3

MrMovieBuffMar 1, 2017

'Taken 2' is more than just a disappointing sequel, while it has its fair share of great action movie moments, it is unbalanced and horrendously manufactured. I was mildly underwhelmed by the predecessor, 'Taken' (2008) also had great moments'Taken 2' is more than just a disappointing sequel, while it has its fair share of great action movie moments, it is unbalanced and horrendously manufactured. I was mildly underwhelmed by the predecessor, 'Taken' (2008) also had great moments of action galore and made Liam Neeson the action star he is. Here, he once again proves why he should be the front man of any action movie, but unfortunately the screenplay allows for some silly moments aplenty. Bryan Mills (Neeson) is back, and treats his family, Lenore (Famke Jannsen) and Kim (Maggie Grace) to a holiday in Istanbul, meanwhile, the fathers of the kidnappers who Bryan killed in the previous film seek out revenge. They manage to track Bryan in his holiday destination, and both Bryan and Lenore end up getting kidnapped, leaving Kim to try and do everything to make sure they get out alive. Bryan manages to instruct Kim on what to do, and they both have to try and find Lenore before it's too late. The sequel does what it promises with its premise, seeing our main hero getting kidnapped by those who want revenge was pretty much all this had going for it. Unfortunately, there's not enough to keep you interested as most of what goes on is rather ludicrous and at times, laughable. The cast do a good job carrying the movie, but the direction by Olivier Megaton is rather uninspired, most of the action scenes are not visible as it is hard to track what is going on. Too many edits is an eyesore. This is a sequel that should remain neglected.… Expand

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5

EpicLadySpongeJan 20, 2016

It's not like these sequels were ever needed in the first place, right? Right? Well... Taken 2 is a downfall from the Taken franchise, yet it still manages to give out its strong feeling from the first Taken.

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4

ReelViews94Mar 23, 2016

When Taken hit screens in 2008, it benefitted from the shock of the new. Not that its content looked particularly novel. Executive producer and co-writer Luc Besson had already spent a couple of decades turning out serviceable-or-betterWhen Taken hit screens in 2008, it benefitted from the shock of the new. Not that its content looked particularly novel. Executive producer and co-writer Luc Besson had already spent a couple of decades turning out serviceable-or-better Eurothrillers made in the model he helped create with films like La Femme Nikita. The shock came from the star doing the Eurothrilling: Liam Neeson, an actor of the first order, known for exuding introspective gentleness. Neeson was the last person most would think to cast as a pitiless killing machine, but there he was, carving his way through the Paris underworld in search of his suspiciously mature-looking teenage daughter (Maggie Grace), who’d been abducted by the sex slavers who apparently run rampant in the City Of Light.

Part of what makes Taken so entertaining, albeit sometimes unintentionally, is the way it portrays Europe as a pit of sin filled with snares for unsuspecting American innocents abroad. (Kind of like a Henry James novel, but with a lot more forced prostitution.) The rest of its appeal comes from the unapologetic simplicity of its plot, its propulsive pace, and the way Neeson took to both, bringing unsmiling gravity to what could have been a dull role. Since then, the shock has worn off. Neeson continued to explore the action world in films that are striking (The Grey), dull (Unknown), or perfunctory (The A-Team). This, it seems, is what Neeson does now, and his return to his Taken role offers few surprises.

The film also lacks the efficiency and relentlessness of the original. Back in the States and mending fences with ex-wife Famke Janssen and Grace, Neeson seems more worried about his daughter’s dating habits than the possibility of the Albanian father of one of the first film’s villains targeting him for revenge. That, it turns out, is a mistake, as is Janssen and Grace’s decision to join Neeson in Istanbul, where he has a few days to himself after finishing a security detail. What begins as a family outing, with a hint of rekindled romance between the parents, devolves into kidnapping (the word “taken” gets thrown about liberally), torture, high-speed chases, and other misadventures probably not smiled upon by the Turkish Board Of Tourism.

None of it is particularly novel or exciting. Stepping in for Pierre Morel, Olivier Megaton (The Transporter 3) brings a workmanlike, mostly coherent approach to the action scenes, and there’s a clever sequence in which Neeson helps Grace find him through a crude form of echolocation involving a map, a felt-tip pen, and some hand grenades. The only real innovation is in making Neeson’s adventure a family affair, but that mostly involves making him bark driving instructions at Grace as they tear through Istanbul’s obstacle-strewn, chase-friendly streets. Otherwise, it’s business as usual for the Besson machine, distinguished only by the star working the levers. Neeson’s Jason Statham-ization continues apace, but it’s looking less and less like a welcome development.… Expand

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4

FilmClubMar 27, 2016

At a time when iconic action heroes are few and far between, Bryan Mills stands tall — and not just because he’s 6’ 4”. He’s a taciturn, leather-jacketed super-soldier-turned-bodyguard who begins 70 per cent of his sentences with the words,At a time when iconic action heroes are few and far between, Bryan Mills stands tall — and not just because he’s 6’ 4”. He’s a taciturn, leather-jacketed super-soldier-turned-bodyguard who begins 70 per cent of his sentences with the words, “Listen to me very carefully...” He’s killed more people than you’ve had hot dinners, and probably some of them with hot dinners. Not to mention his very particular set of skills, which make him a nightmare for anyone foreign and in need of a shave. Yet there’s also an endearing awkwardness that sets him apart from all those other one-man armies. At heart he’s a worrywart, constantly fretting about his family’s safety but mostly embarrassing them in the process. The kind of guy who secretly installs a GPS chip in his daughter’s phone, and who thinks a karaoke machine will make a brilliant birthday present.

All these qualities earned Mills, as played with pleasingly poker-faced intensity by Liam Neeson, a large following when Taken came out in 2008. No-one was more surprised than Neeson himself, who recently admitted he’d expected it to go straight to DVD. Instead it made $227 million worldwide, turned him into a late-in-life action star and made the sequel an inevitability. Sadly for those fans, Taken 2 fails to go bigger, badder, better. Instead, it retains all the twitchy xenophobia of the original — sending the all-American, occasionally-Irish-accented Mills to Istanbul, another foreign city seemingly lousy with lowlifes — while dropping the ball on all the OTT action that made Taken so much fun.

Blame must be laid at the feet of director Olivier Megaton (the man behind Transporter 3 and Colombiana, replacing Taken’s Pierre Morel), who has an excellent name but fists of ham when it comes to lensing combat. Time and again Mills faces off against foes, only for the resulting scraps to unfold so confusingly — thanks to shakycam, overcranking and merciless strobe-cuts — that it appears he’s editing people to death. It might be to disguise the fact that Neeson, who’s just turned 60, isn’t exactly Jet Li. Or it could be because crucial shots have been excised to secure a 12A rating (the original was 15, with an 18 director's cut). Yet even the film’s big car chase, which recycles an oft-seen oncoming-train stunt, requires serious concentration to follow.

There’s a potentially interesting plot wrinkle, in that the villains this time aren’t random baddies but relatives of the scumbags our hero dispatched in Part 1. Accordingly, the hunter has become the hunted, as vengeful Balkan gangster Murad (Rade Sherbedgia) sets out to acquire a very particular set of Mills. With Bryan and his ex-wife kidnapped, and daughter Kim (Maggie Grace — 28 playing 19) their only hope of rescue, the set-up of the first movie is neatly inverted. But co-writers Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen haven’t come up with enough cool things for the beleaguered family to do. It’s enjoyably ludicrous that Mills’ method of drawing Kim to their location involves her flinging grenades around in a city centre — if more than a bit out of character for the world’s most over-protective father — but mostly what we get is a lot of yawny rooftop parkour and generic alley take-downs.

Despite the fact that the filmmakers miss a trick in not giving him a quotable speech to match his “I will find you...” monologue from the original, Neeson is still the redeeming feature. He commits to lines such as, “When a dog has a bone, the last thing you should try to do is take it from him,” as if it’s Chekhov, and invests his cartoonishly lethal character with cheerably gruff gravitas. He’s always watchable. It’s just a shame, then, that he’s stuck in such a rote adventure, pitted against a bunch of witless, bland Albanian thugs (who, after Dredd and The Expendables 2, are the third villainous gang this summer to be identifiable by their tattoos). There might still be a future for Mills — or a past; might we suggest a prequel with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’s Neeson-a-like Benjamin Walker? — but it’ll need to be much better thought-out than this.

The first one offered the novel sight of Oskar Schindler going Commando. Unfortunately, this half-hearted sequel is low on novelty and lower on fun.… Expand

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3

MovieMasterEddyApr 3, 2016

Too-tidy sequel can’t be saved.

“Taken,” about a former CIA operative who uses his considerable brawn and brain to rescue his teenage daughter from a bunch of sadistic sex-trade traffickers, was a surprise hit in 2009. The nervyToo-tidy sequel can’t be saved.

“Taken,” about a former CIA operative who uses his considerable brawn and brain to rescue his teenage daughter from a bunch of sadistic sex-trade traffickers, was a surprise hit in 2009. The nervy kid-in-jeopardy thriller opened quietly at the beginning of the year, chugging along to make a respectable $100 million-plus at the box office.

The appeal of “Taken,” apart from its straightforward, unpretentious approach to otherwise pedestrian material, was Liam Neeson. As “Taken” protagonist Bryan Mills, he infused an otherwise by-the-numbers procedural with an ineffable, highly appealing blend of Celtic soul and 6-foot-4-inch heft. As an instantly sympathetic embodiment of paternal reassurance and alpha-male ferocity, Neeson reinvigorated his career with “Taken,” embarking on a series of similarly pulpy thrillers (“Unknown,” “The Grey”) that seemed to surprise even him. You can’t blame Neeson, or the “Taken” producers, for trying to catch lightning in a bottle again.

What you can blame them for is “Taken 2,” a sequel every bit as clumsy, ham-handed, outlandish and laughable as the original was sleek, tough and efficient. “Taken 2” finds Bryan back in Los Angeles, teaching his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace, now officially past her sell-by date playing teenagers) to drive and gazing wistfully at his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), when he picks Kim up for their weekly Saturday tutorial. When Bryan travels to Istanbul on business, circumstances conspire to bring Kim and Leni there in order to surprise him; soon, all three are caught up in a nasty web of kidnapping, sadistic torture and revenge spun by the very Albanian bad guys Bryan recently vanquished on behalf of his daughter.

It’s a perfectly acceptable setup, but from its first set piece -- a low-octane chase through an Istanbul bazaar, followed by a weirdly muffled, awkwardly choreographed fist fight -- “Taken 2” possesses the perfunctory mark-hitting of a movie more invested in going through the motions than raising its own bar. The spook-tested tricks and superhuman powers of observation that Bryan trotted out in the first film are now played for maximum preposterousness, such as an utterly laughable gambit involving hand grenades and eastward-blowing flags, or a life-saving feat of deduction accomplished with a map, a Sharpie pen and a shoelace.

Bryan is still the man with all the answers, the modern era’s dream of competence and moral clarity rolled into one hunky package. But in the clunky hands of “Taken 2” director Olivier Megaton (working from a phoned-in script by producer Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen), he’s become little more than a know-it-all who dispatches every obstacle as if he’d anticipated it all along. There’s no crafty fun to be had watching him figuring it all out.

By the time “Taken 2” stages a second, ludicrously conceived car chase, which leads to an equally absurd tableau of macho posturing in a Turkish bath, the entire enterprise feels as false and tidy as the tasteful drop of blood that adorns Bryan’s chin. When Neeson visited “The Daily Show” earlier this week, Jon Stewart eagerly asked if a “Taken 3” was in the works. The actor visibly recoiled, his hand slashing his throat in a “that’s enough” gesture, suggesting that the star is painfully aware that sometimes lightning should stay in the bottle.… Expand

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6

spacebear1Jan 8, 2018

Olivier Megaton's Taken 2 is a reasonable sequel to a very enjoyable action film. I loved Liam Neeson, even though he is pretty much the same in every film. I thought the story was fine and the action sequences were pretty fun to watch. InOlivier Megaton's Taken 2 is a reasonable sequel to a very enjoyable action film. I loved Liam Neeson, even though he is pretty much the same in every film. I thought the story was fine and the action sequences were pretty fun to watch. In the end, my only complaints about the film was that the first half is really slow and takes a while to get going, but I really enjoyed the film even if it isn't as good as the first.… Expand

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4

TheRussianatorApr 12, 2018

Why did Taken need a sequel? Because it made a lot of money. Unfortunately, the director of this movie doesn't seem to know how to film action sequences, since the movie's shaky quick-cut technique gives you a headache instantly. You can'tWhy did Taken need a sequel? Because it made a lot of money. Unfortunately, the director of this movie doesn't seem to know how to film action sequences, since the movie's shaky quick-cut technique gives you a headache instantly. You can't tell what's going on and this is really the biggest flaw of the movie. The story is dumb too. Revenge is a very generic plot device, but it just seems unnecessary. Also, there's a laugh-out-loud moment in this film that made me cringe. Liam Neeson instructs his daughter to throw grenades from the roof so that he can determine where she is. ?????!!!!… Expand

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5

ErikTheCriticOct 11, 2018

Not as compelling as the original, due to the lack of new ideas and the absurdity of some scenes, "Taken 2" still delivers us a few suspenseful and exciting scenes, but not enough for this sequel to hold up.

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8

DiptanshuApr 22, 2020

Amazing Sequel!great acting and music!amazing action scenes great tactics it was thrilling to watch the hotel scene where they find address with him paying attention to sound details and her daughter marking in map amazing and clever!goodAmazing Sequel!great acting and music!amazing action scenes great tactics it was thrilling to watch the hotel scene where they find address with him paying attention to sound details and her daughter marking in map amazing and clever!good chase scene and amazing fighting scene at last!although didn't know what happened to current husband of his x wife!overall entertaining movie!… Expand

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4

SafeCloudJan 16, 2020

Sadly, this film is much worse than the first film. While the acting and writing is still there, the sin of this movie is the action. It`s shot with so many cuts that you can barely see what is happening. Also, there is this stupid sceneSadly, this film is much worse than the first film. While the acting and writing is still there, the sin of this movie is the action. It`s shot with so many cuts that you can barely see what is happening. Also, there is this stupid scene where one of the characters throws grenades off a roof. Really disappointing taking in the fact that the first movie was pretty good and still holds up.… Expand

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7

akshatmahajanAug 29, 2020

For me, this part was better than first part in terms of action. This type of movies should have good action which previous movie was lacking a little bit. Like previous, Liam Neeson's acting was good. Again, if you are an action movie fanFor me, this part was better than first part in terms of action. This type of movies should have good action which previous movie was lacking a little bit. Like previous, Liam Neeson's acting was good. Again, if you are an action movie fan then this film is for you.… Expand

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4

JJ2FAS4UAug 22, 2022

----------------------------------3.8/10-----------------------------------

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7

Gloom-shroomApr 4, 2022

I dunno what is this film? what is it about? what is it in general? well I don't **** now

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