Taken 2 (DVD)
Newest Review: ... scenes in this film are actually quite brutal and not the nicest to see so I definitely think that the 15 DVD rating for this film is ... more
Taken too much of my time... what a waste!
Taken 2 (DVD)
Member Name: SpiderDreams
Product:
Taken 2 (DVD)
Date: 05/01/13
Rating:
Advantages: Not really got any advantages
Disadvantages: It's not worth buying on DVD
FILM REVIEW ONLY (I saw this at the cinema and so cannot comment on the DVD extras etc)
~Spoiler Alert~ This review mentions parts of the fim and also parts of the first film, though I would assume if you are reading this you have already seen the first one. :)
Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace
Director: Olivier Megaton
Length: 92 mins
Rating: 12A
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Plot
As this is a sequel, the plot is connected somewhat to the original movie. In the original movie teenager Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) goes on holiday to Paris with a friend and is kidnapped up by a sex slave gang. During the kidnapping, she is on the phone to her father, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) a retired CIA operative an ex-CIA operative. As is expected, very angry father with awesome skills goes after well hidden bad guys to save his estranged daughter.
The sequel starts several months after all this occurred and the family is trying to rebuild their relationship and get over what happened.
However the kidnappers from the first film, who were obviously killed during the hunt and rescue of Kim had families of their own. These family members, brothers, fathers etc along with grieving decide to get revenge on this man Bryan Mills.
So, while in Istanbul with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and daughter Kim, Bryan and Lenore are taken hostage by the father of one of the original kidnappers.
From here there is the usual stunts and action that follow Neeson's character as he attempts to save himself and his ex-wife, protect his daughter and stop the bad guys.
Issues
The first movie was great, especially because it was barely advertised and so was a little cultish. The action, characters and stunts were just brilliant.
The plot of the first movie was very solid, daughter is kidnapped while on holiday unsupervised and father who has some impressive skills comes to rescue her. The bad guys, who have done this many times have no idea what they have gotten themselves into by taking an ex-CIA operatives daughter.
Due to the strength of the first movie, the sequel has a big issue that made it just nowhere near as good. The plot of the second is that he and his ex-wife are taken this time (hmm... that is not exactly an increase in the drama). Not only that, these new baddies know exactly what sort of person they have got so the cocky arrogance from the first isn't there.
However despite being aware of Bryan Mills abilities and how dangerous he is, I found their methods for dealing with him (capture etc) somewhat lacking. Some belligerent family members with a grudge go after a well skilled man. Right from the start the danger and threats seem very limited and any time the director / writers could have shown some teeth and made it a little darker, they pulled back.
Fight scenes and car chases
The car chases were okay, nothing special mainly because one involves Bryan Mills' teenage daughter (who is just learning to drive) suddenly zipping around in a car in Istanbul while being chased and shot at, comes off unrealistic and very clunky at times.
The fight scenes were okay but nothing compared to the first and some of them seemed to just cut before they actually ended so on more than one occasion I wasn't quite sure why one of the characters was now led dead/unconscious because I failed to see a final blow/shot etc.
Music
From what I remember the music wasn't bad, but also not so great that is stuck with me - which good music that compliments a film really well ALWAYS sticks with me. It brought enough to keep the movie going but not enough to interest me in checking out the soundtrack or even mentioning it to my partner when I was leaving the cinema.
Acting
I was surprised at how unimpressive I found the acting. Liam Neeson was good, but then he always is but he wasn't as good as he has been. Famke Janssen seemed a little wooden at times and Maggie Grace, playing Kim Mills did not come across as someone who had suffered a trauma (first film). The other characters seemed pretty one dimensional and there was nothing striking about any of them.
Overall
Was okay to watch but left me feeling underwhelmed, will not be bothering to buy it on DVD when it comes out. It cannot even come close to the first one.
I was surprised it wasn't that great, especially with Luc Besson as one of the writers (I love his work, and he worked on the first one) though there was two additional writers and a different director, so maybe that had something to do with it.
My advice, give it a miss.
~Spoiler Alert~ This review mentions parts of the fim and also parts of the first film, though I would assume if you are reading this you have already seen the first one. :)
Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace
Director: Olivier Megaton
Length: 92 mins
Rating: 12A
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Plot
As this is a sequel, the plot is connected somewhat to the original movie. In the original movie teenager Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) goes on holiday to Paris with a friend and is kidnapped up by a sex slave gang. During the kidnapping, she is on the phone to her father, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) a retired CIA operative an ex-CIA operative. As is expected, very angry father with awesome skills goes after well hidden bad guys to save his estranged daughter.
The sequel starts several months after all this occurred and the family is trying to rebuild their relationship and get over what happened.
However the kidnappers from the first film, who were obviously killed during the hunt and rescue of Kim had families of their own. These family members, brothers, fathers etc along with grieving decide to get revenge on this man Bryan Mills.
So, while in Istanbul with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and daughter Kim, Bryan and Lenore are taken hostage by the father of one of the original kidnappers.
From here there is the usual stunts and action that follow Neeson's character as he attempts to save himself and his ex-wife, protect his daughter and stop the bad guys.
Issues
The first movie was great, especially because it was barely advertised and so was a little cultish. The action, characters and stunts were just brilliant.
The plot of the first movie was very solid, daughter is kidnapped while on holiday unsupervised and father who has some impressive skills comes to rescue her. The bad guys, who have done this many times have no idea what they have gotten themselves into by taking an ex-CIA operatives daughter.
Due to the strength of the first movie, the sequel has a big issue that made it just nowhere near as good. The plot of the second is that he and his ex-wife are taken this time (hmm... that is not exactly an increase in the drama). Not only that, these new baddies know exactly what sort of person they have got so the cocky arrogance from the first isn't there.
However despite being aware of Bryan Mills abilities and how dangerous he is, I found their methods for dealing with him (capture etc) somewhat lacking. Some belligerent family members with a grudge go after a well skilled man. Right from the start the danger and threats seem very limited and any time the director / writers could have shown some teeth and made it a little darker, they pulled back.
Fight scenes and car chases
The car chases were okay, nothing special mainly because one involves Bryan Mills' teenage daughter (who is just learning to drive) suddenly zipping around in a car in Istanbul while being chased and shot at, comes off unrealistic and very clunky at times.
The fight scenes were okay but nothing compared to the first and some of them seemed to just cut before they actually ended so on more than one occasion I wasn't quite sure why one of the characters was now led dead/unconscious because I failed to see a final blow/shot etc.
Music
From what I remember the music wasn't bad, but also not so great that is stuck with me - which good music that compliments a film really well ALWAYS sticks with me. It brought enough to keep the movie going but not enough to interest me in checking out the soundtrack or even mentioning it to my partner when I was leaving the cinema.
Acting
I was surprised at how unimpressive I found the acting. Liam Neeson was good, but then he always is but he wasn't as good as he has been. Famke Janssen seemed a little wooden at times and Maggie Grace, playing Kim Mills did not come across as someone who had suffered a trauma (first film). The other characters seemed pretty one dimensional and there was nothing striking about any of them.
Overall
Was okay to watch but left me feeling underwhelmed, will not be bothering to buy it on DVD when it comes out. It cannot even come close to the first one.
I was surprised it wasn't that great, especially with Luc Besson as one of the writers (I love his work, and he worked on the first one) though there was two additional writers and a different director, so maybe that had something to do with it.
My advice, give it a miss.
Summary: don't bother to see it, just re-watch the first one
