Taken 2 Review
Sitting excitedly for the return of Qui-Gon Jinn ruthlessly obliterating yet another crime syndicate and saving his family in the process. From the legendary threat of finding and killing the foes of the original film, it's fair to say that many have been anticipating yet another unapologetic action movie. Hell, with a director that goes by the surname of 'Megaton,' expectations are that we're in safe hands. But there is one very simple reason this film doesn't work, and it goes by the two-number-and-one-letter rating of '12A.'
The first half hour is pure exposition: a wholly pointless piece of plotline about the ex-wife's turmoil with her current partner and his daughter's inability to pass a driving test, that feels obstructive to the warmly welcomed return of the ridiculous action scenes. A weird reverse of roles occur as the daughter is tasked to save both her parents, with Neeson showing his true Jedi skills by managing to measure exact distances via sound alone, planning this entire operation via a tiny mobile phone on his person.
Add in a weird moment of trying to form a connection with the antagonist, a realisation made by the viewer of this movie (you) that the scriptwriters must really hate the Turkish, the most blatant open ending for a sequel, and there is something which could've been good; but feels half-finished throughout.
The setup and execution is exactly what you'd expect from Taken 2, in the way that it's just the original Taken again. 90 minutes that just seem to pass by unnoticed, which was a merit of memorable action last time; but just feels forgettable with the rather lame attempt at character development, the non-existent suspense, the lack of the slight humour and the action that suffers from good setups leading to bad payoffs.
The tame nature of the certificate Taken 2 has been purposefully filmed to achieve in the great aim of grabbing more of the 'Father and son' crowd and accruing greater box office figures mean it's nothing more than a flicker to the Jack Bauerish exploits of aggression that the original brought to the table.
I've always had my doubts about sequels, and this demonstrates why I should continue to do so. 4/10
Jason England
