Lacks the novelty of the original

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 2015)

Taken 2 picks up the story sometime after the events of the original film. Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) has mended the fences with his family and things are looking up. So much so that they all decide to vacation together in Istanbul. Unfortunately Bryan still has plenty of enemies left and once again he's forced to wage one man war against terrorists, kidnappers and all around scum.
Taken 2 is a decent action film. Neeson gives once again a very good performance as an aged special agent turned security expert, who's perhaps a bit slower than he used to be, but that doesn't mean that he isn't one of the most lethal people still alive. These movies are really nothing more than an ode to his badassery. And there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes it's simply enough to watch a guy wade through hordes of bad guys, effortlessly dropping them down.
What bothers this film is the similarity of its plot to the first one. I do appreciate the fact that the events of the original film have a significant impact on the events of this one, but they still could have come up with a plot that isn't simply the plot of the first one in a different location. Sure, it's a good, efficient and working plot and as a standalone film this is a very good action romp, but it's nevertheless a very lazy choice.
So yeah, Taken 2 is nowhere near as good as its predecessor, but it's definitely worth a watch if you liked the original or are simply looking for a thrilling action film that knows how to entertain.