Taken 2

Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Rade Serbedzija, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, D.B. Sweeney, Luke Grimes
Running Time: 91 min.
Rating: PG-13  

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

It isn't difficult to see how Taken went on to become such a critical and commercial success when it was released with little fanfare and even fewer expectations in early 2008. At the time we all knew Liam Neeson was a great actor but had little clue he'd be so believable as an action star. He was playing a quietly intense man thrust into a situation that at least seemed at the time to be out of his control. Everything about it seemed fresh. The kidnapping. The crime. The fight scenes. The grittiness. The shocking sight of the sixty-something Neeson kicking ass for an hour and a half. In an era of overblown effects, here was this no-nonsense, bare bones action thriller that knew exactly what it was supposed to do and did it. It didn't reinvent the wheel but it sure was a lot of fun, with director/co-writer Luc Besson somehow pulling this all off within the confines of a PG-13 rating. Capitalizing on its success, Neeson's played a variation on the role so many times since (even taking it to more dramatically tragic heights in The Grey) that you'd figure the novelty's worn off by now. And to an extent it has, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still work.

Taken 2 plays out almost exactly how you'd expect the sequel to Taken play out, only a bit crazier. Rumors of its inferiority to the original are greatly exaggerated. It does some things better than its predecessor and others not as well but at the end of the day it all evens out. Its two biggest attributes just might be its off-the-wall silliness and an increased focus on the supporting characters, one of whom nearly steals the movie out from under Neeson. Those who don't enjoy this follow-up or think it fails to recapture the spirit of the original should probably go back and ask themselves whether the first film was really as strong as they thought. This nearly equals it.

This action logically picks up where the last film left off as the body count ex CIA operative Bryan (Neeson) left behind in rescuing his kidnapped teen daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from a sex traffiking ring comes back to haunt him. Now Murad (Rade Serbedzija), Albanian crime boss and father of one of Bryan's victims, is out to avenge his son's death and won't stop until he pays. That opportunity comes when the emotionally scarred Kim and her now separated mother Lenore (Famke Janssen) surprise Bryan by joining him on his vacation in Istanbul. But by the time he starts to suspect they're being followed it's too late, as he and his ex-wife are taken captive. Now it's up to Kim to use her own resourcefulness and follow her dad's very specific instructions to find and rescue them without being captured again herself.

There's a little more set-up this time around as much of the first half hour is spent establishing a new family dynamic despite little time presumably passing since the conclusion of the last film's events. The formerly hostile relationship between Bryan and Lenore is noticeably more civil with even a possible chance of reconciliation while Kim struggles to pass her twice failed driver's test and hide a new boyfriend from her overprotective dad. It's kind of a neat reversal to have Bryan placed in a rare position of vulnerability and having to rely on his daughter to rescue him and her mother. It also succeeds in giving Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen twice as much to do this time around and neither disappoints in their heavily expanded roles.

Despite being the one "taken," Bryan's still pulling the strings, sometimes quite literally, as in the film's most uproarious scene when he gives Kim ridiculously complicated instructions to finding their whereabouts that involves a shoestring, a map and her throwing live grenades all over the city. Laugh all you want but you can't tell me it isn't inventively original or that director Olivier Megaton (taking over for Besson) and Grace don't fully commit to this weirdly entertaining sequence with everything they have. Of course, this isn't to say Neeson's playing some helpless victim here, eventually dishing out just as many beatings as he did the last time around, if not more. If there's anything to complain about it's that he may as well qualify as a superhero rather than a former CIA agent. And yet Neeson still somehow sells it, again giving us front row seats to see an action master at work.

One of the more unintentionally hilarious elements of the original film was nearly 30-year-old Maggie Grace's performance as the 17 going on 12 year-old teen. Who can forget "daddy's little girl" getting a new pony for her birthday and awkwardly running to her father with arms flailing? It was a really bizarre take on the character, making me wonder whether Grace was just overcompensating for the huge age difference or the portrayal was intentionally serving some larger symbolic purpose in the story (like the loss of her virginal innocence). Her work here is a complete 180 from that as she's not only completely believable as a reluctant teenager still emotionally wrestling with her ordeal, but as a makeshift action heroine who's learned to run since the last film. And this time the movie seems in on the joke regarding her age. How else could you explain this script's obsession with her failed driving tests? I'd call it a sub-plot if only it were that and didn't lead to an excuse for an exciting car chase through the streets of Istanbul with her dad yelling instructions at her like a backseat driver. It's almost become a running gag having adult performers playing teens but this is a steep age difference Grace pulls off and I'm betting it would be a challenge for anyone not familiar with the Lost actress to guess she's not at least around the same age as the character she's playing.

Famke Janssen's formerly unlikable ex-wife has been softened for obvious reasons to fit the plot but despite the actress's best efforts I can't say I cared as much about her fate. Yet even this installment's most fervent detractors would have difficulty denying it's really the improved father-daughter dynamic this go around that what most sets it apart from its predecessor. And in one of the strangest aspects of an already strange film, someone involved in the production is apparently a big fan the Drive soundtrack, as two highly recognizable songs from the already cult classic make curious (if entirely pointless) cameos. That so many seem to be up in arms about it despite the filmmakers being legally well within their bounds to use them speaks volumes about the imprint that movie and its music is still leaving. Anything signifying that I'm okay with, even if it does nothing to add or take away from the proceedings here.

Yes, there will be a Taken 3. We know that much by how the seeds are so obviously planted for it at the end. And it'll be interesting to see how they move forward considering all the characters who can be taken already have. The series may have to move in a completely new direction, which is probably for the best just as long as Neeson's still involved. Sure, this film's ridiculous but so was the original. Both in a good way. The Taken series works because it fully embraces its own ridiculousness without so much as winking.  And while the set-up here isn't quite as crisp it does accomplish what a successful sequel needs to in expanding the universe and getting us further familiarized with the characters. Considering there's a new name behind the camera the drop-off is quality is surprisingly minimal, with extended sections of the film certainly crazier and more fun than they have any right being. You might occasionally shake your head at its absurdity, but you won't be bored.

Taken

Director: Pierre Morel
Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Jansenn, Olivier Rabourdin, Holly Valance, Xander Berkeley
Running Time: 93 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

It's been a while since I've seen commercial spots for a film as effective as those for the action thriller Taken. Essentially a full-length trailer, it laid all its cards out on the table by showing the entire pivotal kidnap scene and dared you not to see how it all turns out. It was a brilliant strategy that paid off as audiences flocked to the theater making it a rare successful February release at the time of year when garbage is routinely dumped into multiplexes. The only drawback to this strategy was the scene they chose to show was so exciting, well-acted and well-written that there was a great chance that the rest of it wouldn't be able to measure up. Now after finally seeing it I can say that it does and it doesn't. It has some issues that have been generously (but understandably) overlooked by many.

Maybe we've gotten so used to crap being being released at this time of year that when we're given the slightest glimpse of an intelligent action vehicle we wet our pants with excitement. There's some truth in that but the more probable explanation is that Taken as a perfect example of how a gifted dramatic actor can make B-movie potboiler material appear to be more than what it is. There is some sharp writing and incredibly choreographed fight scenes but the real reason for the film's sucess is the powerhouse performance of Liam Neeson. It's amazing how someone of his caliber can lift what would have otherwise been just a generic thriller. And who could have guessed he had this role in him?

Ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) is enjoying his recent retirement until he's coaxed back into action by his old buddies to handle security for a pop star (Holly Valance). He ends up saving her life, proving he's still got what it takes, which is good news because soon he's really gonna need it. Desperately trying to reconnect with his 17 year-old daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace) he eventually gives in to his nasty ex-wife Lenore's (Famke Janssen) nagging and reluctantly signs the permission slip for her to go with her best friend (Katie Cassidy) to Paris for a couple of weeks. As someone who's seen his fair share of evil in the world he knows traveling abroad is dangerous for a 17 year-old girl, especially one who acts like she's 8, dresses like she's 12, and gets a pony for her birthday. He wants her to call him immediately upon her arrival and of course within the first few minutes of her stay in the hotel she's abducted by a group of evil Arabs running a sex trafficking ring. This leads to that electrifying aforementioned scene in which Mills calmly and rationally states his intentions for the kidnappers if they continue along this path. With the window for finding her closing by the second he heads into a seedy Albanian underworld to find Kim and kill those responsible for her abduction.

It's a relief to finally see a thriller that actually makes some logical decisions and features a protagonist who uses his intellect as well as his brawn to eliminate his adversaries. From the first moment Mills discovers what's happened he lays out his plan and executes it step by step systematically destroying everyone in his path without hesitation and predicting every possible outcome. He's Jason Bourne, Jack Bauer, MacGyver and James Bond all rolled into one. Helping is that script tells us very little about him other than that he worked for the CIA, a fact not even his family is privy to. This prevents us from questioning too much how this guy can do everything he does so when the film does stretch credibility to its breaking point we buy it.

The screenplay was co-written (along with Mark Kamen) by Luc Besson, best known for introducing the world to Natalie Portman in The Professional and directing the underrated sci-fi fantasy The Fifth Element. He has a knack for crafting fun films with just enough intelligence to not make you feel too guilty about enjoying yourself. It's trash done well and director Pierre Morel does about as good a job as possible staging the fight scenes in a believable enough way that we're on the edge of our seats, although I have no clue how this got away with a PG-13 rating. If there's an aspect where the movie fails miserably it's in its depiction of the family dynamic or making us care about whether this girl is actually found. Neeson's intensity makes up for a great deal of that but not everything.

Even though the role thankfully isn't large, Maggie Grace's performance is dreadful in every possible way, bordering on Razzie worthy. I was warned going in it would be bad and boy was it. Though undeniably easy on the eyes, she's too old for the role and someone made the really bad call having her act even YOUNGER to overcompensate. Grace fared fine with a more mature, age appropriate role on the first season of Lost so this feels like a giant step back. She giggles like a little school girl, cries "daddy!" and even kicks her feet up and flails her arms while she runs. If I didn't know better I'd think by the way she was playing her that the character had a developmental disability.

Whether this was a concious decision by the writers or director to stress Kim's "innocence" or improvisation on Grace's part I have no idea but either way it's an embarrassment because teenagers just don't act this way. It's especially surprising considering the script's attention to detail involving everything else related to the kidnapping. On the plus side, the performance does make it more beleivable that a girl like this wouldn't last a second overseas and turns him into the "father of the year" for having serious concerns about her going despite the approval of Janssen's one-dimensional bitch character.

None of those details should even matter though because Neeson provides all the credibility this movie needs. At 56 years-old he's every bit as believable as an action hero as either Christian Bale or Matt Damon and brings a sense of legitimacy to even the most ridiculous of circumstances. He delivers a line to his ex-wife's new husband (Xander Berkeley) that plays just right with the perfect infusion of sarcastic humor that suggests he knows exactly the type of movie he's in.

We always knew Neeson was great, but sometimes you need to see an actor slum it in B-level material to find out just how much they can do. It either drags them down (like it so often does Nicolas Cage) or they rise to the occasion unexpectedly and everything else around them improves because of it. Neeson definitely fits into the latter category. He's the reason to see this. Supposedly, there's a sequel in the works which makes sense because there are a lot of different directions Neeson could go with the Mills character considering we still know very little about what makes him tick. But for now, at a time of year where most films released are disposable, it's a nice surprise to be rewarded with a semi-intelligent thriller that knows how to have fun.