Complete Disappointment

Rating: 1/10 (8 October 2012)

I was so excited at the idea of a Taken sequel that I hadn't occurred to me at how bad it could end up being; unfortunately this movie is a perfect example of how lightning typically doesn't strike twice.
In Taken you felt as though you were with Bryan Mills while he slammed through Europe utilizing his "particular set of skills" to track down his kidnapped daughter, Kim. You could feel his sense of urgency and anger throughout the gritty film that was strongly written by Luc Beeson and well directed by Pierre Morel. Every situation Mills found himself in and got himself out of was realistic enough to believe and kept the audience captivated, not distracted.
All of those things that made Taken great were basically ignored in Taken 2. For the most part, the script was filled with lame/cheesy dialog, ridiculous action sequences (see the car chase for examples of both) and completely unrealistic situations (see the scene in which Kim finds her parents via rooftops and grenades). It seemed as though Luc Beeson, whom I very much enjoy usually, mailed in this script for a quick paycheck banked on the success of the original. There were so many poor attempts at humor between Mills and Jamie, Kim's boyfriend, that the movie would have been better off allowing actor Jon Grimes, one of Mills' ex-agent friends, to reprise his Uncle Rico role from Napoleon Dynamite. At least that would have been funny.
In the end, I will continue to watch my Taken DVD while attempting to block out the fact Taken 2 was ever made and find comfort in knowing Luc Beeson said this would be the only sequel.