Taken 2
October 5, 2012 in theaters
The 2012 sequel inverts the first film's premise: instead of Mills rescuing his daughter, the families of the Albanian men he killed in Paris come to Istanbul seeking revenge. Bryan Mills is taken, and his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) must become the rescuer, using skills her father teaches her over a phone. Olivier Megaton takes over directing duties, and the Istanbul setting provides a different texture from the first film's Paris, with rooftop chases and grenade-throwing navigation sequences. The film expands the emotional scope, bringing Mills's ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) into the action, but the core appeal remains the same: Bryan Mills is very good at what he does, and the people who took him made a mistake. The sequel is louder and less lean than its predecessor, and the decision to aim for a PG-13 rating softens the brutality that made the first film effective. Still, Neeson's commitment keeps it watchable.
Cast
Director
TRAILER
QUOTE
"Your father has a very particular set of skills. Skills that make him... very dangerous."
-- Bryan Mills
DID YOU KNOW?
The Istanbul setting was chosen to provide a visually distinct backdrop from the first film's Paris locations.
THE VERDICT
Synthesized from published reviews
Taken 2 suffers from the law of diminishing returns. The inverted premise is clever on paper but less effective in execution, and the PG-13 rating drains the brutality that made the first film effective. Neeson remains watchable, and the Istanbul setting adds visual texture, but the set pieces lack the first film's lean impact. A sequel that exists because the first was profitable, not because the story demanded it.
GALLERY
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