Taken all the way with Taken 2!!

Liam Neeson is back ! Back with his two sexy ladies! Maggie Grace playing Brian's daughter Kim and Famke Janssen playing his wife Lenore, and they are both looking as beautiful as ever.

There has been many high hopes for this Autumn's release of Taken 2 (12A) after Taken had us on the edge of our seats the whole way through while we rode on the roller-coaster of emotion! It had everything from gruesome torture scenes, heart warming father-daughter bonding and Liam Neeson pretty much kicking ass the whole way through. Well director Olivier Megaton has done it again bringing us an exciting thrill ride throughout the whole film.

How is it different?

The plot was inevitable, mainly from the film title 'taken', someone had to be kidnapped in some form just like the first film. However the tables have turned this time, without giving much of the film away, its all down to Kim to help save her mum and dad. The main bulk of the film is based on Neeson's former victim's fathers and families seeking  revenge as they kidnap Brian and Lorane in the most stereotypical bag over head fashion. Around 40 minutes into the film it really starts to heat up as we get to witness Neeson work his way through about twenty men in a row through a mixture of bullets, mixed martial arts and cardboard box throwing.

What I really loved about this film was the bond between Brian and Kim even though it was borderline cheesy at some points. For instance at the beginning of the film Brian finds out Kim has a new boyfriend and the reaction that follows is definitely something I could see my own dad doing.  Furthermore throughout the film there are many references including an exciting car chase in a bright yellow taxi throughout Turkey, which  show how desperate Brian is for his daughter to pass her driving test awwww! Both these examples are so delightful and heart-warming to watch.

Moreover another likeable feature the film had to give was the frustration we could see within Liam's character. Just like the first film Brian is left to fight his way to his family, in this one it is his wife Lorane that really needs his help and it really made me feel hopeless watching his desperation to save her! I felt many times throughout watching Taken 2 that there was no hope at all. For example there are so many (some might say even too many) times in which you are led to believe that Lorane is dead and Brian  is never going to save her. However like every Scooby Doo episode the bad guy always loses and hope is eventually restored!

So why was Taken so much better than the sequel?

Alarm bells were ringing as soon as the 12A certificate appeared before me I could have sworn that the first one was a 15.....which indeed it was. Ok so I'm going to be honest what really really gets on my nerves in actions films is when you can't actually see any action! The majority of the fighting scenes were all distorted, either that or Megaton hired a really bad camera man. Now I don't mean that the screen was fuzzy or blurred, I honestly mean that while Liam Neeson was kicking ass the camera was all over the place, I spent most of my time  looking up at sky shots. For whatever reason the producers chose to use this filming technique it really didn't work.

Secondly...a 12A!! I really can't get over this. I needed to see blood and hear dirty after the watershed words! instead I witnessed necks being slit clean and a rather nicely put revenge speech! Normally I find that no swear words is quite intimidating especially if your going for the more sinister effect. Nevertheless he didn't swear in Taken so who am I to demand it in this one? On the other hand we are left feeling slightly confused and dazed  as in the first Taken Brian was willing to torture his victims through punishing electrocution whereas in the second Taken the worst we probably see is elbows being karate chopped backwards and chain choking. I personally felt like the closest we came to a 15 were the noises Janssen made throughout the film, instead of screeching like any other girl would when being bagged and kidnapped her approach was a more of a sexual in the bedroom kinda' moaning! Definitely a cover your children's ears moment.

I really did enjoy Taken 2 it just needed a bit more umph .. you know what I mean? It just can't beat the legendary Taken. 6/10