WORDS Deirdre Molumby

‘Where is my daughter?!’ screams Brian Mills (Liam Neeson), as he assassinates Albanian after Albanian in search for his captured daughter in France. It was the line that made us fall for Neeson’s dedicated father character in Taken, and he returns to the role in this sequel.
The film follows a revenge plot this time, as the relatives of the Albanians that Mills killed in the first film decide to take vengeance upon Mills and his family. What can he do to protect the family he loves? “What I do best.”

The film allows the family relations between the father, mother and daughter to be more delved upon and developed than in the prequel, which is nicely done. Istanbul provides a rough-around-the-edges, complementary backdrop to the action — of which there is plenty, with shoot outs, car chases, and of course, explosions.

Unfortunately, what the film lacks is the build-up to the action in the prequel. Sure, Taken tackled with the very real problem of sex-slave trading in a rather unrealistic, idealistic way (Neeson’s father character coming in and simply taking down everyone) — but it had a better story, more plot development and more intrigue than this sequel.

In summary, don’t go into Taken 2 expecting something more than what it offers. It is not meant to be, or even trying to be, some new contribution to the action-thriller genre as a whole (that is why they are sequels). Take the film for what it is — an action movie that wants to engage and entertain you. If you liked Taken, you should definitely give this a watch.