![devices used in taken 2 movie devices used in taken 2 movie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Famke_Janssen_WonderCon_2013.jpg)
And not surprisingly, since this is why we're here, the surviving family members of the kidnappers from the first 'Taken' are on the hunt for Bryan and his family. Given the events of the previous film, why the two women would ever want to leave the country again is beyond me, but they do. Nevertheless, Besson and crew use the overt plot device as the perfect opportunity for Bryan to be the caring father and husband when he invites Lenore and Kim to join him on assignment in Istanbul. But after the experience of this retread in über-masculinity that essentially amounts to a chest-beating revenge drama, shouldn't it be clear this man comes with some major international baggage? However, it's never addressed in any serious note, giving more attention, instead, to Lenore's marital troubles, so that it creates the inevitable romantic reunion with her ex-hubby. Namely, a make-out scene in which Kim isn't entirely comfortable with her boyfriend's (Luke Grimes) advances and another shortly thereafter with Bryan helping his daughter prepare for her driving exam. The script gives hints that the same characters are dealing with the emotional aftermath of the first movie. It couldn't possibly be any dumber than what we actually get, but at least it would be funnier.įrench auteur of fantastically wild actioners Luc Besson reunites with co-writer Robert Mark Kamen to pen this direct follow-up to 2009's surprise box-office smash. (How old is she supposed to be anyhow?) Perhaps, the filmmakers should have taken a cue from ' National Lampoon's European Vacation' and hired a different child actor to play the role of distressed daughter. That last bit, I'm sure, has more to do with Grace's bad acting than the character's presumed age. This is the same character who only moments ago was 1) still learning to parallel park, 2) couldn't admit to her father that she was dating a boy, and 3) behaves a lot like a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl. But this is a momentary pause, as she soon steps up her game and suddenly matures into the hero while daddy guides her via cellphone.Īs action-packed as the above sequence may be - and even somewhat edge-of-your-seat thrilling, I must admit - it's ultimately rather silly, pushing the audience's disbelief to the breaking point. Their daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), who's not looking much like a teenager anymore but acts just as annoying, takes a break from the ensuing chaos of the family being chased through the narrow streets of Istanbul by hiding in the closet. Living up to its title, 'Taken 2' sees two people, from what is probably the unluckiest family in the world, get kidnapped and tortured - the deadly super spy and overprotective father Bryan (Liam Neeson) and his ex-wife Lenore ( Famke Janssen, who spends most of her time whimpering instead of crushing her captors to death with her thighs).