Taken 2

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 12th October, 2012
Time : 93 minutes
Director : Olivier Megaton; Writers : Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen; Music : Nathaniel Mechaly
Starring : Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Rade Serbedzija

The Albanians he killed in the first installment want revenge and led by Rade, they land up in Istanbul where Liam Neeson is about to holiday with his ex-wife, Famke and daughter, Maggie.

This is the film not about the where, the why but quite simply about the how. Ignore the implausibility’s of turning Istanbul into a battleground, throwing grenades casually, firing in the streets without retaliation or several cops landing up. Just focus on how Liam Neeson is going to get even with the bastards chasing him and his family.

Intersecting circles, sound checks, grenades, timing the drive when under the hood, all merge nicely with the obsessive, meticulous man Liam is shown to be. The setting is good, Istanbul seems to lend itself to thrillers with its exotic locales. Maggie comes of age in the movie, not altogether plausibly though, more like a Hindi film heroine, while Famke is convincing as the helpless mom. And the beauty with Liam is, like Harrison Ford, you instantly take a liking to him and trust him. Him, you always seem to believe.

I also think this film could’ve been better if, like the first one, the bad part (the pick up) happened quickly and without warning and then we are left with the prospect of the good guy hunting down the bad. Else, unfortunately, until we come to that part, we are left with a slightly nervous, pit in the stomach feeling.