Review
Liam Neeson entertains in ‘Taken 2’
October 18, 2012
I had my suspicions when I went to go see “Taken 2,” the sequel to the “Taken” movie that was released in 2008.
In my opinion, sequels usually can’t compete with original movies, due to a lack of originality. However, “Taken 2” did not disappoint me.
Not only did the movie introduce some new ideas, but its overall message was intriguing, along with quality stunts and acting by Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janson.
The movie started where the first movie ended. Bryan Mills, a retired CIA operative, his ex-wife Lenore and his daughter Kim were finally starting to forget about the tragic events that happened on Kim’s last vacation to Paris. Bryan killed a kidnapper and saved his daughter from being introduced to the sex trade.
Life was continuing as normal for the family; Bryan was even starting to let Kim talk to boys again. The romance between Bryan and Lenore was also starting to be rekindled, and he invites her and Kim on a trip to Istanbul.
Trouble strikes again, however, when the father of the kidnapper takes Bryan and Lenore hostage in order to avenge his son’s death.
While the movie was based off of the same story as the first, it had many original elements. The series of events were complex, but easy to follow.
I thought that the storyline was intelligent; the details of the story were thought out well, which made the movie realistic.
However, there were some elements of the story that weren’t so realistic. The Kim character was supposed to be in high school, however, the actress who played her looked much older than 17 or 18, considering she is really almost 30-years-old.
Kim was also supposed to just be learning how to drive; I thought it was comical when she served as an excellent getaway driver later in the movie.
Besides these few imperfections, the rest of the stunts and acting were excellent. Neeson, in my opinion, is an excellent actor and he delivered another excellent performance in “Taken 2.”
He also had good chemistry on-screen with Grace and Janson. The stunts in this movie were some of the best I have seen; I especially enjoyed a scene when Kim throws a grenade, in order to track her location.
The theme of the movie was the final piece that made the movie great. While Bryan has power at the end of the movie to use his force for the sake of evil, he tries to come to terms with the man who has taken him hostage.
Bryan’s life is threatened because of this decision; however, the end of the movie shows that good always overtakes evil.
Nicole Hovatter is a student at UW-River Falls.