Writer: Siti Munawirah Mustaffa

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Watch this if you liked: “Taken”, “Die Hard 2” and “Man on Fire”

He's an-ex CIA operative. He has trained Obi-Wan Kenobi and Batman. He led the A-Team once. He even saved over 1, 000 Jews from the Nazis. So, what, pray tell, makes every crooked Joe think that he can actually tear Liam Neeson apart and come out alive?

Just a year after Kim (Maggie Grace) got abducted by a gang of human traffickers in Paris, the Mills family decides to spend their vacation at the east meets west city of Istanbul. Little do they know that certain people are still in rage for the deaths of many Albanian men in 2008's "Taken". With a vow made at the funeral, the angry Albanians are all set to take not the daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), but instead the indestructible dad, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson). So, who will save the day this time? The choice is yours to find out.

The whole plot in this sequel is very straight to the point, so you might have guessed the next scene correctly with ease. Personally, the reviewer prefers the first "Taken" to this one as the former had a darker touch to it with a storyline that's strong enough to leave you disturbed. "Taken 2", under Olivier Megaton's directions, however, seems to mock Bryan's over-protective character and leans towards family drama and non-stop action to satisfy the audiences' demands. In spite of the rather average execution, it is still pretty entertaining to watch 60 year old Neeson go bare-fisting against an army of men till the very end.

Like the hero of the story, Liam Neeson is the movie's lifesaver and casting him was probably the best choice Pierre Morel had ever made. There is absolutely no one more fitting to become Bryan Mills than Neeson himself. From the tone of his voice, you know that he is not someone you should mess with because he will find you and when he finds you, he will kill you. The reviewer only has a problem with mediocre actress Maggie, whose perky teen-queen Kim seems a little off for a film like "Taken".

In all honesty, "Taken 2" can be a fun ride, only if you decide to push your logics aside. Throwing three hand grenades around the city in search of your dad might seem like an irrational idea, especially if you happen to be a tourist; but if he's Liam Neeson, then perhaps it's best to sit back and relax. Just enjoy a good show.

Cinema Online, 01 October 2012