A sequel and an equal...

Rating: 7/10 (20 September 2013)

Mental note to self: NEVER p*ss Liam Neeson off.
You know all those anonymous henchman, bodyguards, drug dealers etc that action heroes unceremoniously mow down in their quest? Well... you'll never guess what, but it turns out they have families and friends too, all of whom thirst for revenge after what the likes of James Bond and Jason Bourne (Hey, I just noticed, those two have the same initials... weird) have done to their kin. So, as a result, after Neeson acquired a cricket score of bad guy kills in the original, there's consequences for his actions. Namely, being abducted in Istanbul by thugs, during an ill-advised trip with his ex and daughter. But like The Hulk, you don't wanna make him angry, and despite being outnumbered around 50-1, the safe money is still on the Irishman.....
Unlike Taken 1, which was a non-stop pantheon of evermore explicit slaughterings, this one pauses for breath once in awhile to crank up the tension and provide us with some minor character development, with less gory (but nevertheless painful) deaths. This hardly makes it a lesser work though, and watching Neeson use his training to wipe out his aggressors is as exhilarating as ever... this time with a little help from his teenage kid (who is played by an actress in her late 20's. Hmm...). Some may accuse it of racism, seeing as all the evildoers are identikit Muslim men. "Get a life" I say, stop acting like Mary Whitehouse and enjoy the show.
Oh and er... Hi Liam. That's a nice tracksuit you've got on... 7/10