REVIEW | Taken 2 (2012)

News of a sequel of a very good movie always fills you with dread because it is highly unlikely that it can rival its predecessor. The default feeling is that a sequel is always a bad idea. Like the idea of Titanic 2 is absurd. And so does Taken 2. But you are still determined to see the sequel. No matter what. Despite bad reviews, you tell yourself that you simply cannot miss it. 

Taken 2, penned by the original scriptwriters but with a new director (Oliver Megaton), takes us to Istanbul, where our hero, ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), is on a security job but takes his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) with him for a much-needed vacation. But their R&R turns into a nightmare when they become the target of a mob revenge.

Even if you have low expectations and zero illusions that Taken 2 can  induce the same high level of stress, fear, excitement and tension the way Taken did, this movie will still disappoint you. It will render you slouched in your cinema seat. Engaged, yes, but never tensed. Just one time when Mills was trying to reach for his mobile device, well, that was pretty tensing. 

The main problem why this movie lacks thrill and excitement is because everything was made absurdly convenient for Bryan Mills. Lazy screenplay? The villains seem to be extremely careless, dull, and lazy. They're almost helping Mills and his family escape and defeat them. Mills is a highly skilled dangerous man yet he's going against a mob of boring Looney Tunes? I bet my grandma can escape the Albanian mob unscathed, too. Also, the fight scenes and hand-to-hand combats are awful, clearly hiding the aging Neeson's deteriorating power punches in lazy editing. The highlight of the movie, and the only redeeming factor, is when Mills is giving impressive instructions to his daughter Kim at the hotel.

And Kim's boyfriend looks like one of the thugs. No, the thugs are better looking. I had to say that.

The movie, though, is somewhat heartwarming. The father-daughter bond, cemented by the horrid kidnapping experience in Part 1, will touch you; the memories still clear in their eyes. And we all love Liam Neeson no matter what, and Bryan Mills is still going to be one of the most beloved movie heroes of all time. But all in all, Taken 2 is 70% absurd, 20% heartwarming and 10% exciting (the Kim-instructions part).

If you can, just wait for it on DVD.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Still showing in Philippine Cinemas