Greetings & Salutations Folks! The CameraMan is back with another review and BIG SURPRISE ….
it’s an action movie! *laughs*
It’s the first week of October and the end of the 2012 movie season is starting to kick
into high gear. This is usually the point where Hollywood throws everything it has left in it’s arsenal
at the viewing public before the holiday movie bonanzas takes over theaters.
Today, we’ve got a review of “TAKEN 2” … YES …. believe it or not, they made a sequal to “TAKEN”.
You’d think that after all the bad guys Liam Neeson’s character, former C.I.A. operative Bryan Mills,
killed in the original “TAKEN” there would be none left …. WRONG …. I guess even in action
movies, the bad guys have families, friends, and fellow criminals who would want revenge and despite the fact that they are villains and deserve whatever sort of punishment the protagonist can dish out.
It is a year after the events in “TAKEN” and retired intelligence agent Bryan Mills (Neeson), is trying to
adjust to life as a civilian security expert working in the private sector while dealing with the fact that his daughter is dating and attempting to pass her driver’s test (for the third time). After Maggie’s step-father walks out on Maggie and Lenore, Bryan invites them to spend time with him in Istanbul after completing a job there.
However, before the vacation begins the happy reunion is ruined when Murad Hoxha (Rade Serbedzia)
the father of the main antagonist in “TAKEN”, kidnaps Lenore and attempts to kidnap
Maggie as well in retaliation for the death of his son.
The film does require some at times absurd leaps of faith and knowledge to drive the story but If you are
coming for acting, a complex story, and such, your simply in the wrong place.
If a fresh batch of bad guys just itching to get their collective butts kicked by Neeson is what you want,
then it will deliver. At the end of the screening the crowd at the theater stood up and gave the film a standing ovation while coincidentally the audience screamed ‘AWESOME’!
3.5 stars out of 5.
