Look, I'll cut to the chase. Taken 2 is exactly what you'd expect. There's a reason this is one
of the first sequels we've seen in a while that doesn't follow its title with a
colon and a subtitle. It's not here to further the story; it's here to let Liam
Neeson punch more people in the face. This is another installment of vengeance
porn.
But it's solidly entertaining and fast-paced vengeance porn.
Taken 2 sees Bryan
Mills (Neeson) reconnecting with his family shortly after the horrific events
of the first film. With Mills teaching his daughter Kim (Grace) to drive,
drinking wine with his ex-wife, and tormenting Kim's new boyfriend, the film
drags through too many sequences establishing the family's new bonds. It's
necessary, though, because those bonds drive Taken 2 and give it more of a reason to exist. Once the family bond
is solidified, they jet off to Istanbul for a family vacation. And what better
way to get over a recent trauma than wander around an unfamiliar country?
Unfortunately, the family of the men Mills murdered in the
original film had a bond of their own. During a semi-date, Mills and his ex,
Famke Janssen's Lenore, fulfill the titular prophecy and find themselves
trapped in a dungeon somewhere in Istanbul. But their takers sorely
underestimate the skills of Mills and soon regret their vengeance. Bryan Mills
wreaks havoc.
The biggest strength of this movie is its willingness to
tweak and play with the clichés of the genre while completely staying true to
it. Cleverly sloppy sequences where Kim has to assist her father's violence
balance the cold, hard third act. The film is short, another strength, and only
lasts as long as it should. Only a slow-moving first act brings the movie down.
The bottom line is: If Taken
did anything for you at all, you were never not going to see Taken 2. And you'll get exactly what you
want.
