Preposterously bad plot lines ruin promising premise

Rating: 2/10 (8 February 2013)

This is one of the most preposterously bad films that I've seen recently, primarily because the plot lines make absolutely zero sense. And this is coming from a guy who loved the first film Taken, is utterly impressed by Luc Besson's films La Femme Nikita and The Professional, and likes the acting of Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, and Maggie Grace. What a complete waste of talent to put them in this film! And a complete waste of my money and time!
***SPOILERS BELOW***
I'm being charitable when I say it utterly begs credulity to believe that the daughter, who can't even pass a driver's license test in California, can suddenly drive and maneuver like a pro through the narrow crowded streets of Istanbul while being shot at by any number of bad guys with machine guns, and being chased by innumerable police cars. I've rarely seen such a remarkably poor plot line. I mean, really, it's degrading to the audience to have to view such nonsensical garbage.
Plus, does it make any sense at all that Liam Neeson's character is going to ask his DAUGHTER TO THROW GRENADES FROM ROOFS so he can geo-locate where he has been kidnapped to? How utterly preposterous is that? Sure, daughter, go ahead and pull the pin from the grenade and count to THREE, and then throw it as far as you can! And by the way, with each step on the rooftops, you're moving closer to the bad guys with machine guns instead of towards the safety of the U.S. Embassy! It would be hilarious if it weren't so painfully bad.
If Neeson can call his best bud in the CIA, then can't he leave him an SOS message to bring in the cavalry so to speak? Surely there'd be agents on station in Istanbul who could provide fast response? Surely they'd be more qualified than his daughter to combat/track down the bad guys?
A minor point - the film would have felt more authentic if the bad guys actually spoke Albanian to each other.
I felt the premise of the Albanians seeking revenge in Istanbul had promise, but it all went downhill from there into a deep black yawning abyss of terribleness. Do not *ever* see this film. What a travesty.
Rick