Predictable, passable & emphatically NOT scripted by David Mamet, more's the pity.

Rating: 3/10 (5 October 2012)

In terms of the greatest mysteries in the world, why 2008's Taken was given a sequel isn't up there (it's all about the money, money, money). But quite why this Liam Neeson vehicle was green-lit over an A-Team sequel is, however, a mystery. The first installment was enjoyable, the second, cheesy, predictable and lacking any new ideas. Heaven forbid there'll be a third.
Taken 2 occurs a year after Kim (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped and Bryan Mills (Neeson) rampages across Paris to rescue her and kill every last mofo who even thought about being involved. Unfortunately for Mills, on an Albanian hillside cemetery in front of the graves of the eight would-be kidnappers, Murad Krasniqi (Rade Serbedzija, Gregorovitch in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows) vows to avenge his son and the other scoundrels in the ground, conveniently overlooking their villainy.
Meanwhile, Mills, his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Jansen), and Kim find themselves holidaying in Istanbul. Leaving her parents to wander the streets, Kim opts for an afternoon in the hotel pool only to be disturbed by a phone call from her dad with the fateful words, "Kim, your mum and I are gonna to be taken. People are going to come for you too" And so begins another chase and a fresh crop of corpses.
It's adequate, but that is nowhere near acceptable when dealing with an actor of Neeson's stature. This is the actor that gave us Michael Lamb, Oskar Schindler and Michael Collins. That he also delighted millions as Ra's Al Ghul and Qui-Gon Jinn only adds to his star power. But in the past couple of years he's coasted along with bland performances in a series of poor films that includes Battleship, Clash of the Titans and now Taken 2. Yes, he can run, scowl and shoot at the same time, he snaps necks with conviction and has the good grace to at least feign regret as he snaps another limb but, come on Liam, you're worth so much more than this.
It isn't entirely his fault, though. Some of the dialogue he and his co-stars are required to deliver is pure Gorgonzola. The opening scenes are so filled with stilted exposition that when a brief exchange arrives that doesn't cause one to cringe, it feels as though David Mamet has stepped into the scripting room. To wit: "Dad, I can't do it." "Can you shoot?" "No." "Then drive." Okay, after the event it doesn't stand up to much but actually, as those words filled my ears, I felt as though we might be getting somewhere. Yep. That's about the sum of it.
Director Oliver Megaton, who brought us both Transporter 3 and Columbiana, has dipped towards the standard of the former rather than striving to exceed the latter and screenwriter Luc Besson seems to have lost his way completely. Even together they fail elevate Taken 2 to the level of Hostage, Ransom or Panic Room all three of which make the art of kidnapping far more thrilling.
Grace has more fun in Taken 2 than she did in the original and is fairly convincing as the protected daughter forced to find some inner steel, but she's no threat to the likes of Angelina Jolie or even Kate Beckinsale. Jansen fares less well and is largely called upon to simper, smile adoringly at her ex-husband, cry and play at being unconscious. Perhaps if there is a third installment, Mills will be bound and gagged and the girls can have all the action. We can but hope.
As for the villains, most are virtually faceless, have no characters and nothing to identify them from each other, the exception being Krasniqi who instigates the onslaught but is barely involved. What a pity we were not allowed to see his point of view and understand his pain. While we would have still rooted for the heroic trio, Taken 2 would have been a far richer experience if there had at least been some ambiguity and the opportunity to glimpse the other side of the crime before condemning the criminals.
Taken 2 is a predictable, passable way to spend part of an evening but even more forgettable than the original. The risk of spoiling the film prevents me from commenting about some ropy plot devices. I'm sure you know the formula and expect pretty much everything to work out, but does it really need to be so tidy? Couldn't it have had just a little bit of depth? Or have stood up to even a tiny amount of scrutiny?
Ah, there's the mystery!