Gotta Love Liam Neeson

Rating: 7/10 (12 October 2012)

Kudos to Liam Neeson for single-handedly reviving the action adventure genre. Back in the day, when I was growing up, the action adventure genre was never in short demand due to the holy triad of Willis (Die Hard), Stallone (Rocky / Rambo), and Schwarzenegger (Terminator); however, the mantle of action hero seemed to have been vacated until Mr. Neeson took the reigns and ran with them almost four (4) years ago with hits like Taken, A-Team, The Grey, and Unknown.
Though not as good as it's predecessor, Taken 2 does appease the adrenaline junkie's hunger for high-speed thrills, and off the chain action sequences. In this go around, the human trafficking cartel in which Bryan Mills (Neeson) thwarted in Taken 1; have their sights set on vengeance. It seems that one of the individuals killed in the first film was the cartel kingpin's son, and he is hell bent on exacting revenge on not only Bryan, but also his family (ex-wife and daughter).
The thing that I love about Liam Neesom's characters, especially Bryan Mills, is that they are played so low key, and down to Earth. No one, not even the criminals in his movies that he is engaging, can take him seriously. That is until that can of "whoop ass" is opened up. He's just your average, run of the mill "Joe", devoted father, and all round nice guy, who possesses enough mercenary skills to kill you with his bare hands if need be. I guess that why so many people going to his films, because Liam Neeson has the knack of making people (you the audience) care about the characters that he is playing; and that goes way beyond Acting 101 class.
Bryan Mills is no exception. I love the Bryan Mills character. Devoted ex-husband, loving father by day; ex-black ops, ex-military, security force provider by night. All Bryan wants to do is make an honest living, and be the best dad that he can be to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace); who can be very trying at times, but actually grows up a lot in this film.
My one complaint with this film has to be its length. The film is only 86 minutes long, short by any standard. The film takes 21 minutes up front with fluff and fill before any action even begins, and wastes another five (5) minutes at the end, which leaves the audience with about only sixty (60) total minutes of action adventure time and I want MORE!!! I also have to question Bryan's decision to leave his wife's limp body at the scene of the henchmen's abduction site, but hey, he was only doing what the script told him to do LOL!!! Still a very enjoyable film, and I did walk away from this film feeling very satisfied. So I do recommend this film. If action adventure is your genre of choice, then you will not be disappointed. The film references the first film enough so seeing Taken 1 is not a necessity to enjoy Taken 2. The good news is that it seems that a Taken 3 and 4 might come to fruition. With a $49 million debut (twice Taken 1) at the box office, I am sure that 20th Century Fox will not have any issues making this happen either. So it seems that Bryan Mills just might be around for a well, and that's a good thing!!! SEE MORE OF MY REVIEWS ON FB @ "THE FARIS REEL"