Review: Taken 2

Plot:  It's several months after the events of Taken and operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) and his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) are finding it difficult to assimilate back into normal life.  Bryan drowns himself in work with an obsessive like demeanor, while Kim is so haunted by the events in Paris that she finds it difficult to even drive.  In an effort to clear away the wreckage and inject some joy into their lives, Bryan invites Kim and his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) to join him in exotic Istanbul.  Unfortunately, the relatives of the Albanians Bryan killed in the first film have different plans.  Led by Albanian Mafia chief Murad (Rade Serbedzija), the vengeful group will stop at nothing to destroy everything and everyone Bryan loves.

Review:  Uninspired and derivative, Taken 2 is a tawdry and pale shadow of its innovative predecessor.  Reminiscent of such terrible action sequels as Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Taken 2 fails to inspire any real attachment to its characters, electing to go with spectacle rather than substance.
     Luc Beeson and and Robert Mark Kamen's weak and choppy script starts out with a plausible premise:  the family members of the people Bryan killed in the first film seeking revenge.  After that the plot becomes surprisingly far fetched.  I mean come on?!  You're really going to invite your daughter and ex-wife to Istanbul, which no offense to Istanbul, isn't in the best part of the world geographically.  With everything that happened in Paris, why would you put your daughter in harm's way in a city that is exponentially more dangerous?  Couple this with Kim's suddenly NASCAR like driving skills in a car chase scene halfway through the movie, and you'll begin to understand how quickly the plot points lose the thread of credibility.
     Director Oliver Megaton (yes that's his real name) is no stranger to action films having done Columbiana and The Transporter 3, and like both of those films Megaton relies almost solely on explosions, fights, chase scenes, and blood to do his talking.  Gone are the intense dialogue scenes from the first film that counterbalanced the remarkable action sequences.  Instead action predominates with little room for character development.  To his credit the action and fight sequences are excellent.  The car chase scenes in particular are riveting.  Unfortunately this can't make up for Megaton's choppy and inconsistent direction.
     Neeson has become adept over the years at playing the gruff, brooding, and intense tour de force they we've grown to love.  Taken 2 is no exception.  Neeson once again brings a hard-boiled edge to Mills, however it's more of the same with no real development or growth from the first film.  Maggie Grace's character Kim does exhibit a strength and perseverance not found in the original, although at times her character became exasperating to watch.  As for Famke Jansen, well she was just kind of there for the ride.
     If all your interests lie in a mindless two hours of action and escape, Taken 2 will hold some appeal.  For those out there who loved the nuanced and layered thriller of  Taken you will probably be extremely disappointed.  I suggest you just leave it.

My rating:  4/10