Liam Neeson actually challenges Bourne for the coolest action flicks out there, starring a hero who's a conflicted killer. Of course, Liam is just awesome regardless, so any movie he makes is prone towards excellence, with the possible exception of The Phantom Menace.
This time, the family members of the men he killed in the first Taken, are out for vengeance. On a business trip to Istanbul, Bryan Mills invites his daughter Kim, and her mother Lenore to accompany him. Sort of a family bonding time. Everything's rosy until the bad guys show up, and suddenly Mills finds himself using a skill-set that he'd just as soon forget. Although that suitcase in the closet stuffed with weaponry sure does come in handy. The poor guy never goes looking for trouble, it just finds him.
It is movies like this that really make me despise people of a terrorist mindset. Don't you dare touch my family, but yours is free game, and in fact, as soon as I catch your daughter, I'm selling her to the worst scumbags out there who will ravish her repeatedly. All because you killed my son who had kidnapped your daughter way back in the first movie so he could sell her the first time. Such a nice, upstanding boy, yeah? You really raised him right, you should be proud. It's sickening. And what's worse? In some cases, it's true.
Lots of blood splatters and gunfights, and Neeson's no wimp when it comes to fisticuffs either. Very little in the way of foul language, which I appreciated, and also pretty nix on the sexual content. Just a scene with Kim and her boyfriend at the beginning that ended pretty quick because Daddy showed up at the front door to give her a driving lesson. Never mind that he found out the address of said boyfriend on the sly. He did track down Kim in a huge city in the first movie, so he can easily find her boyfriend's address.
Taken 2 is a fun way to pass the time, especially if you're an action adventure lover like me.
One tip to Lenore, though:
1) You aren't gagged.
2) You're being dragged away by men intent on cutting you into little pieces and mailing them to your family.
3) This means that they want to torture you slowly, and are NOT going to shoot you dead.
4) Your hubby/whatever is in the house, with a gun, and his whole intent is to save you.
Equals:
WHY AREN'T YOU SCREAMING YOUR HEAD OFF?!
Seriously, screenwriters should take a page out of real people's lives once in awhile. If I were being dragged off down a dark corridor, and I had a husband like Bryan Mills or Ethan Hunt or Jason Bourne, I'd be screaming to let him know where I was. It's just common sense, especially in this case where you know they don't want to ruin the pleasure of killing you slowly. Oi!
... only an idiot would kidnap this dude's family.
ReplyDeleteI still need to see this movie. Maybe I'll rent it tonight.
That was the other thing. These guys lost loved ones to him before. They're not going to win against him, he's too good at his job. So why go for revenge? These are not the brightest bulbs!
ReplyDeleteI love watching Liam Neeson in movies. There's something that is just so... fabulous about it. He popped up for all of five minutes in a movie I watched the other night ("The Next 3 Days" -- which is AWESOME, btw) and I was like, "... Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson opposite on another? Oh, YES."
ReplyDeleteBad guys can be notoriously STUPID. =P
I'll rent this tonight.
Did you ever watch "The Fall"??
"The Next 3 Days" sounds familiar, but I'm not sure that I ever saw it. It's a couple of years old, right?
ReplyDeleteI did see "The Fall." It took me a good half hour to adjust to it, but I just loved the storytelling aspect of it. Lee Pace really had an Asian thing going on with his clothing, hair, and eye makeup, so he was quite yummy! It's not a movie I would have ever picked up on my own, so thank you!
Yeah, it's from a couple of years ago (you can watch it free on Amazon Prime, if you're interestd) -- about a man who breaks his wife out of prison, since he knows she's innocent and will never get out on her own. If I were a fingernail-chewer, I would have bitten them all off -- it's very suspenseful, throughout.
ReplyDeleteYay! Yeah, it was STRANGE but also... fascinating and very touching. Loved Lee Pace in his black eyeliner.
PS: Sorry about all the spelling errors and typos -- I was on my work computer, which is different from my keyboard -- so sometimes, I click the wrong keys. =P
ReplyDeleteOkay saw it -- good movie, although at points I was screeching at the women either to "scream your head off," or "shut up and drive!"
ReplyDeleteI think... I might want to brush up on my target shooting. =P
When I get a chance, I'll watch "The Next 3 Days." It sounds neat.
ReplyDeleteYou had the same complaints that I did with "Taken 2." Screaming when you're in trouble usually helps! Just sayin'.
No worries about the typos. ;)
Loved this movie - the first was more "poignant" but the second is still good. Just re-watched it the other day after seeing it in theaters and still, it impressed. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you ladies enjoyed it. :)
Yeah, the 1st is very touching, and very traumatic. Since I'm close to my dad, I get how Mills would panic over his daughter being abducted, and do something about it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, the best action scene I've ever watched is in "Red" when Bruce Willis steps, shooting, out of a moving car. So COOL!