‘Taken 2’ DVD Review: Lacking The Emotion That Carried The First Movie

Taken was a movie I really enjoyed. It had a lot of great action, intense moments and some key moments that really stood out. It was a heck of a ride to go on as Liam Neeson’s character searched for his daughter and planned her rescue. Also, Liam Neeson did a fantastic job playing an absolute beast in this movie. It really had all the right pieces to make for a good action movie.

When I first heard that Taken 2 was being made, my first thoughts revolved around how and why they would even consider it. It just didn’t seem like a good idea. Even after reading the synopsis of the movie, finding out that Liam and his wife are taken this time by a father seeking revenge for his son, it still didn’t sound like a good idea to me. However, now that I’ve seen it, I can say that the entire movie works.

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is on the job in Istanbul and decides to invite his ex-wife and daughter to join him for a getaway. Meanwhile, a father of a man that Bryan killed in the previous movie is set to get his revenge against him and plans his abduction. They successfully capture both Bryan and his wife, but this time the daughter narrowly escapes. This left her to be the one to find out where they were taken and to set Bryan free.

I must say it was interesting – it worked and I loved the way the daughter tracked them down. That entire sequence was probably the best part of the movie, except it didn’t carry as much weight as the previous movie did when Bryan tracked her down. Still, I think most people will find it interesting, but don’t expect the same experience you had with the first movie.

The entire pacing in this movie felt rushed. In fact, everything about the movie felt rushed and as if it was quickly thrown together. For me, the movie comes off as if it was put together in quick segments without much of a flow, a distraction that took away from what could have been a thoroughly enjoyable movie. It has all the action and all the suspense, plus Liam is still awesome, but unfortunately, it’s not any better than a very basic action movie.

Even though I thought it was a bad idea to make a sequel, it still had a premise that I thought fitting. It’s just too bad that they didn’t take more time with the development of this movie instead of slapping it together around more action scenes.

If you were a fan of the previous movie, I think you’ll find enjoyment with this one as well. However, don’t expect too much from it except to pass the time. If you didn’t enjoy the first one or didn’t even see the first one, then you have no business watching this move at all. Liam is awesome, his character is awesome, but this movie feels rushed and slapped together. It works as a basic action movie, but unfortunately, I wasn’t taken.

Grade: C-