Masterful Movie

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Taken hostage in Istanbul by the Albanians whose relatives he mercilessly murdered in 'Taken', ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills has to rely on his daughter to rescue him in this action-packed sequel to the 2008 hit film. 'Taken 2' pushes the boundaries of credibility at many points (Neeson triangulating various locations) and it is not quite as well-paced as the first entry with half an hour of exposition before the action truly ignites, however, it is not a worthless sequel by any stretch of the imagination. The writers build up rapport between Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace as estranged father and daughter very well, and there is something quite amusing in how she does eventually get a long awaited real driving lesson from him late in the piece. The film's attempt to reverse the formula of the first film works surprisingly well too as she follows instructions from Neeson via cellular phone of how to rescue him. 'Taken 2' also acknowledges Neeson's callousness for the first time, and how with the Albanians he "killed them all like they were so many nothings" - a refreshing moral stance almost completely absence from the original film. The script is far from perfect though with the sudden reconciliation between Famke Janssen and Neeson seeming like a mere plot device, not to mention many improbabilities, but it is a surprisingly gripping watch and Neeson is as sympathetic as ever as a man out to protect his family whatever the cost. 'Taken 2' is may not necessarily be a superior motion picture to Part One, but it is a lot more interesting than one might expect.

After reviewing other reviews I am left thinking what do I see and enjoy on this movie, Taken 2 that is the first of the series I have seen. I thought it was great and like any movie the location is never spot on, and that's what makes it even more enjoyable and fun to watch.I thought Liam Neeson and Kim did a fantastic job. Well done. Now I want to see taken 1 and hope there might be further movies.I'm not sure what others see to say it was nothing but a comical movie filled with laughter.I also think the goofs adds to the movie and it makes it much better for a first time viewer.It's a movie I would highly recommend for many. And I know many who don't have their drivers license that would drive automatic, who hop right in and know how to drive a stick shift more than anything.Love the ending where their having Sundaes and Jamie joins them. It was a movie filled with lots of action; heck when it gains my attention as people try to text and chat with me on facebook it must be good.When's the next one coming out?

OK, it's a sequel. But uniquely, it's actually rather good.OK, there are one or two clichés with that Romancing the ex-wife thing, but even so this is excellently written, and makes use of superb locations.It takes about 20 mins to really get going, and then you are on the edge of your seat. All the essential elements are there from any decent thriller, but you never find the movie formulaic.You probably know the good guys are going to win - they always do! - but even so the masterful direction manages to build suspense, and the ingenuity of our Hero when faced with his predicament is both novel and entertaining. A refreshing and fully engaging movie from a talented team of writer, director and cast.

Pierre Morel's Taken (2008), a tough, disturbingly xenophobic thriller in which Liam Neeson's grizzled former CIA operative Bryan Mills took down a gang of sleazy criminals in Paris, was hilariously bad. But, in its defence, it was at least hilarious, etching Mills and his 'particular set of skills' into action lore. Taken was a surprise box-office success, igniting the recent wave of codgers- dealing-out-some-old-school-brutality films which the likes of Denzel Washington, Kevin Costner and Sean Penn have embraced to varying success, and proving that audiences still have a thirst for that kind of thing.So inevitably came the sequel, and the producers cannot be blamed for trying to squeeze their new franchise for every penny it's worth before the genre naturally reverts back to straight-to-DVD. What they, as well as the writers and director (franchise-newcomer Olivier Megaton - no, not the infamous Decepticon, though he may have done a better job), can be blamed for, is for putting the audience through the same exact experience again, only without the originality (I use that term loosely) or a coherent action scene. There's plenty of running, punching, kicking, shooting, stabbing etc., but Megaton is so busy waving his camera around and cutting every second that we are left relatively clueless about what is going on, or who anybody is.Not that this matters - unless it's Mills, his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) or his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) - then they're toast, especially if they have thick stubble and are wearing a leather jacket. A gang of Turkish mobsters led by Murad (go-to Eurosleaze Rade Serbedzija) vow vengeance for their brothers and sons who died at the hands of Mills during the events of the first film. After completing a routine security operation in Istanbul, Mills is joined by his ex- wife and daughter for some family time. Only, Mills and Lenore are 'taken', leaving Kim alone to locate her father so he can do what he does best and unleash his special skills on the scumbags.Simply recycling what came before is unforgivable in itself, but going about it in such bland, formulaic and increasingly ridiculous ways make the experience even more torturous. The movie has one simple message - America good, the rest of the world bad. L.A. is shot in glorious sunshine amongst the safety of middle-to-upper class suburbia, while Istanbul consists of dingy alleyways and overweight men puffing cigarettes in cockroach-infested rooms. This casual xenophobia may have waved somewhat if the film delivered any thrills at all, but it doesn't, and fizzles out with a weak climax. Neeson somehow manages to come away from it all unscathed again (and with his wallet no doubt heavier), but his ability to make lines such as "when a dog has a bone, the last thing you want to do is try and take it from him," sound like Oscar-bait does not save Taken 2 from complete disaster.