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Taken 2, Movie

Taken 2 2012

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First they took his daughter. Now they're coming for him.

Liam Neeson and his badass CIA skills are back in this sequel to 2008’s action-thriller. Retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) invites his family to holiday with him in Istanbul. There, he and his wife (Famke Janssen) are taken hostage - by the father of one of the henchmen Mills disposed of in the first Taken film. While in captivity, Bryan must secretly instruct his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) to break them out so he can commence breaking bones and leaving the customary trail of bodies in his wake. Producer and co-writer Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Transporter) also returns.

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237 votes / 47 comments The Talk

  • 86 %

    Want to See it

    What say you?

    • George

      Im keen

    • Victor

      Taken was very good movie, hopefully the sequel just as good if not better :)

    • Nga

      For Sho!

    • TIM

      WANT TO SEE THIS!!

    • LIam

      I just wet myself

    • Lunaran

      DAMN SON ITS THE YEAR OF THE MOVIE NEVERMIND THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON!!!!!

    • mandrake

      Pure awesomeness

    • keira

      probably wouldn't mind if the wife and daughter died. just saying.

    • Esta*

      LOVE IT!!

    • Hoddy

      Good Luck

    • roddy

      wat happened to the other chicks from the first movie he didnt even save anyone else just his daughter

    • hodstar

      Liam as a killer is way cool! kill kill kill sweeeeet!

    • Darryn

      Long awaited!!

    • callum

      i cant wait to see this the first one was awsome

    • kerin

      So wanna see it - cant wait!!

    • emma8

      oooft this is gonna be a hekka good movie!! i cntt waiit to see it!

    • The grey

      You'd better believe it, this will rock just like the first!

    • brad

      fk yeah i cant wait,. 1st one was AWESOME

    • Berta

      yeah can't wait for this movie

    • jonny

      awesome

    • Cal

      The thinking man's Jack Reacher. Liam is awesome in this type of movie!

    • Minge

      I like how he likes to kill everyone without mercy or warning, I would so do his wife and daughter!!!!

    • Ha,

      why don't they just call it "Taken Again!"?

    • bay x

      awesome x

    • DJKwa

      An un- necessary sequel that looks to be feebly recapture the success of the original. The trailer looks bland and too similar .

    • simone

      Bad az! Am joining the can't wait club for this movie. Am amping on the story line and having the same actors makes it more intense @ wana c

    • john

      rock on!

    • Sam Swan

      YES!

    • Jordan

      Pure awesome

    • Weelee

      I think this movie gonna be awesome...!!!!

    • shiftbutton

      Really, how many times is she going to be taken! Annoying girl. But Liam is so cool so ok.

    • martin

      his wife and daughter seem like liabilities.

    • LILs

      AWESOME!!!!

    • Sola

      Can't wait!!!!

    • Margaret-A

      A must see film to see!! Plenty of action.

    • REETZ

      COOL, AWESOME, LIAM U ARE THE BOMB....

    • Joe 90

      Looks brilliant! Will be a must see.

    • IlivzyuuH

      I So Waant to see this.. this caught my eyes right when it qot on previews...

    • Majed

      common 11th already

    • :)

      I'm seeing it this week. If you buy taken on blu ray at jb hi fi you get 2 free movie tickets to see taken 2. It's gonna be AWESOMELY EPIC!

    • mamaof9

      will see it tomorrow with my daughter.yeah

    • reetz

      deff c this, come on its liam, the mann off course

    • maxx

      ohh man i hope itz better than the review

    • Mandy

      Going today ;)

    • KMC

      LAME!

    • Fennik murr

      Yiff murr yiff yiff knot me, baby.

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Flicks.co.nz Review

Rating:

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comment / reply
Liam Maguren Flicks Writer

2008’s Taken was an unmitigated surprise, bypassing the simplicity of its generic premise by introducing audiences to a sympathetic action star that contrasted with your Stathams and Stallones. This sequel doesn’t have the element of surprise on its side, but still boasts 'a particular set of skills'. More

The sequel flips the script by putting Bryan Mills (Neeson) in the hostage chair next to his ex-wife (played by the ever-alluring Famke Janssen), leaving their daughter Kim to break them out. However, the film always keeps Liam Neeson in the driver’s seat - even when Kim’s driving the car during one of the more entertaining car chases I’ve seen all year (if only because of Neeson constantly yelling “Keep going! Faster Kim!”).

New director Olivier Megaton maintains the same energy and enthusiasm of the first, but his poor handling of the action scenes longs for Pierre Morel’s touch. The fights are a jumbled mess of jump-cuts and shaky camera work, masking any sense of choreography. Luckily, returning screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen litter the film with clever scenarios that depend on Bryan’s tactical genius. It’s an indescribable joy seeing Kim throw grenades all over Istanbul while Bryan judges his location via the explosions’ sound delays.

Taken 2 isn’t as good as the first, but it still delivers what the fans want to see: Liam Neeson being a total badass. I look forward to the inevitable Taken 3D. Hide

The People's Reviews

Rating:

5 ratings and 5 reviews

All reviews (5)

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  • DnA

    You should hire "The Kid with a bike" if you want to find worst movie. It'll make this look 5 stars.

comment / reply

I think I missed the punchline

Fdins Nobody (?)

If you love "action" films that contains every cliche of the genre, contains not a single plausible scene, is consistently inconsistent with clothing, scars, and shooting ability, has a weird-boarding-on-is-this-getting-a-bit-incestuous family dynamic AND shows liam neeson is so typecast it makes hugh grant look talented, then you have to see Taken 2, it'll blow your mind! otherwise, possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. ever. just don't.

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Let's See 'Taken' Again, Like We Did Last Summer...

adamatdramatrain Flicks Superstar (?)

Word to the wise: If your dad is John McClane - don't visit Nakatomi Plaza at Christmas time...

Word to the wiser: If your dad is Liam Neeson's ex-CIA op, Bryan Mills (a) don't ask him for driving lessons; (b) don't surprise him by visiting him "at work" in Istanbul, and (c) don't take driving lessons whilst in Istanbul driving a stolen taxi at high speeds through narrow streets being chased by heavily armed baddies...

'Taken 2' is directed by Olivier Megaton, who previously directed both 'Transporter 3' and 'Colombiana' for screenwriter/producer/French movie mogul Luc Besson's EuropaCorp. Megaton handles the movie as you'd expect from his past credits - but the hyper-kinetic, rapid-cut editing style he employs during fight scenes is so annoying that it reminds you of why movies such as 'Ong Bak,' 'Old Boy' and 'The Raid' handle action so much better - because they let you actually comprehend what's going on. It may work depicting dance routines in a Lady Gaga music video, but if you cut so fast between shots during an already frenetic fight sequence it just becomes a blur of nonsensical swishes.

The first 'Taken,' directed by Pierre Morel ('District B13' and the first 'Transporter') was a pleasant surprise in the bad-ass vengeance genre, in which the bad guys kidnap the daughter of the wrong guy and get wiped out by Bryan's one-man-crusade-against-discourtesy. This time around, the dad of those Bryan wiped out last time, (Rade Serbedzija - the go-to actor for wonderfully menacing Eastern European villains), kidnaps Bryan and his wife, (Famke Janssen, who has little to do here other than be the damsel in distress.) So it's up to Bryan's daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) to save the day - instructed every step of the way by her dad on the other end of a mobile phone. This provides the opportunity for Neeson to deliver bizarre lines to her in all seriousness, such as: "Kim, can you get out of the closet safely?"

Strangely, it takes a full 25-minutes for the action to begin (yeah, I know, I timed it, I'm that kinda film geek. Sorry.) 25-minutes? Really? Do we need the slow build-up and establishing of characters? It's 'Taken 2' not 'The Godfather 2.'

Anyway that and the too heavily-edited fight scenes aside, 'Taken 2' does what it says on the tin - re-treading the first movie and delivering a solid, if uninspired, action movie that establishes a revenge cycle that could go on and on forever (or for as long as the sequels make enough cash.) As Bryan tells his captor at one point: "I kidnapped your son because he kidnapped my daughter." Next time round, it'll be: "I killed your dad, because he tried to kill my wife, because I kidnapped your son because he kidnapped my daughter..."

Where the first 'Taken' was a pleasant surprise and a fun watch, this time round it's all a bit 'Bourne Legacy' - a by-the-numbers, been-there, shot-that kinda ride. Fun while it lasts but instantly...

... what was I talking about?

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comment / reply

Taken 2

KatieF Flicks Superstar (?)

The first 'Taken' was so ridiculous, but so good, 'Taken 2' is just as ridiculous, but not as good as the first which is to be expected. I did sit in the cinema with a huge smile on my face while watching some of the action, especially the car scenes. I also caught myself laughing a few times to some crazy fight scenes that made no sense whatsoever. Overall I found it to be a good watch, just expect it to pretty much be the same as the first, good old Liam Nesson at his extreme, and crazy intelligent best.

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Loved it

DnA Flicks Superstar (?)

Okay not as great as Taken but still action packed from beginning to end. A little weak on the end but immense fun and worth the watch if you're a Taken fan.

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liam is awsome

shivy Wannabe (?)

Not as good as the first one but still worth watching Liam neeson is awsome.

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Press Reviews

Guardian (UK)

The premise is looking pretty tired. Full review.

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

The cast is uniformly capable and dead serious, and if you're buying what Luc Besson is selling, he's not short-changing you. Full review.

Empire (UK)

The first one offered the novel sight of Oskar Schindler going Commando. Unfortunately, this half-hearted sequel is low on novelty and lower on fun. Full review.

Entertainment Weekly (USA)

You know what happens in 'Taken 2,' don't you? The same thing that happened four years ago in Taken, but different. (But the same.) Full review.

Hollywood Reporter

Moviegoers who liked 'Taken' and want more of the same will get precisely that. Full review.

New York Times

What follows seems like a nonstop car and foot chase, with Albanian after Albanian falling victim to Bryan's remarkable aim and hand-fighting skills. Foreigners bad, Americans good, box office busy. Full review.

Total Film (UK)

"What are you going to do?" wails Maggie. "What I do best!" growls Liam. Yet while it's fun to watch him take out the Eurotrash, we've seen him do it better. Full review.