As meaningless and apathetic as I found the first film

Rating: 4/10 (30 April 2013)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Ex CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) invites his estranged, at odds family to fly over to Istanbul with him as he takes on a private security mission there. However, he hadn't counted on the relatives of all the men he killed in the first film launching their retaliation on him, going for his family along with him. Once again, Mills must use all the skills he's acquired to protect himself and those he loves.
Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed a bit of a slump in really interesting looking films coming out lately, which may explain why I added this sequel to a film I thought was quite over rated in the first place to my rental list. But, as much as people loved the first film, so they were quite disappointed with this sequel, in fact most downright hating it. My only reaction was to find it as piecemeal as the first film, with Neeson going through the motions again, doing pretty much what he did in the first film again, while the action is filmed at too close up a range, with an unrealistic looking Istanbul as the location. Rade Serbedzija's villain is probably the best thing in it, though with limited screen time. Then again, it's very short and sweet, which makes it inoffensive enough not to be a total stinker. **