Turkish Thrill

Rating: 7/10 (22 October 2012)

Four years after 'Taken' became an unexpected blockbuster and turned Liam Neeson into an action star overnight, Luc Besson returns to write the sequel, helmed by Olivier Megaton this time. 'Taken 2' has Neeson reprising his role as Bryan Mills, the lethal ex-CIA operative from the predecessor. Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace return as his ex-wife and daughter, respectively. Set roughly two years after the events of the first film, 'Taken 2' begins with the blood relatives of the Albanian sex traffickers from the original swearing revenge on Bryan, led by Murad (Rade Sherbedgia) . Bryan meanwhile, is still overprotective about his daughter. When he invites his ex-wife and daughter to a vacation in Istanbul after providing security to an Arab sheikh, it's only a matter of time when the holiday goes awry.
Now 'Taken' was no piece of great cinema. It had a simple plot but was an excellently executed film with great hand-to-hand action sequences. 'Taken 2' is pretty much the same, but thankfully doesn't follow the exact blueprint of the prequel, like the massively disappointing 'Hangover 2' did. This film throws up an interesting situation where Bryan and his ex-wife are captured, and it is up to their daughter to rescue them. Armed with every possible weapon in his briefcase and a remarkable ability to find a needle in a haystack, Neeson does here 'what he does best'. He perfectly slips into the character of Bryan Mills and makes him a relatively believable person compared to what most action stars in this role would have done. The supporting cast do their jobs adequately.
I am a huge fan of hand-to-hand action sequences and this one has plenty of it. One of the highlights here is a thrilling car chase involving a cab around the halfway mark. Another thing worth noting is that the film doesn't overstay it's welcome. At a crisp 90 minutes, it makes for a lazy,popcorn-laden afternoon.
Now there are big plot holes here and there, but despite all of that, 'Taken 2' delivers exactly what everyone wanted. Liam Neeson kicking some serious ass. Admit it,not even you can say 'no' to that.