LOVED IT, best thriller since the first TAKEN

Rating: 10/10 (4 October 2012)

This movie succeeds both as a sequel and as an action movie on it's own. It helps to be familiar with the first Taken (remember "Listen very carefully") but even if you aren't you'll still enjoy it. Liam Neeson and Famke Janssen are taken in Istanbul and Maggie Grace steps up to help rescue them.
There are so many things that are good about this action thriller:
1. Makes good use of Maggie Grace - liked her part and the father daughter co-operation.
2. It relies on Liam's ingenuity (finding locations) in a Mission Impossible way using his "set of skills".
3. Builds on the story of my favorite bad guys "Marco from Tropoja". I'm afraid it isn't too flattering to Albanians but it kind of does put the country on the map.
4. Great use of Istanbul rooftops and streets for pursuit and car chases.
5. The fight sequences for Liam Neeson and the kidnappers is varied but not graphically violent. It shows good action is based on co-ordination, choreography and originality not gore. There isn't much profanity too so it's actually more family friendly than many other thrillers.
6. Some unexpected humor. You'll see.
Forget the bad reviews - what haters! If you are a fan of other Luc Besson movies you'll love this one.