He finds them. And kills them. Again.

"Taken 2"

Directed by Olivier Megaton

Written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen

Starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen and Rade Serbedzija

Rated PG-13

91 Minutes

The first “Taken” was a lean action thriller that thrived on the hard-edged, tough guy persona of Liam Neeson.   Directed by Pierre Morel, it was the surprise hit of 2008 and the dollars signs it left in its wake all but ensured a sequel.  So follows “Taken 2,” again written and produced by Luc Besson, the very cornerstone of the foreign action market.  Direction this time has been handed over to Olivier Megaton, who sounds more like a transformer than a man.  While it lacks the slick efficiency of its predecessor, “Taken 2” is a competent if irrelevant sequel that still manages to deliver a good time.

The basic premise here is that Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) used to be a guy with a very particular set of skills.  In the first film, he exercised those skills on just about everyone in Paris in order to rescue his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from Albanian sex traffickers.  And, well, really, that’s it.  I suppose you know that he succeeded.  “Taken 2” then, introduces Murad (Rade Serbedzija, apparently the go-to guy when you need a foreign villain), the father of one of Bryan’s victims who wants revenge for his son’s death.  Of course it wouldn’t suffice to just kill Mills and be done with it; he’d much prefer to kidnap his family as well, because that worked out so well for his son and his sex trafficking buddies.  After Bryan completes a job in Istanbul, Kim and Lenore (Famke Janssen), Bryan’s ex-wife, join him for vacation.  You’ll be forgiven for thinking this is a risky move on Bryan’s part, given the events of the first movie.  Although I suppose without all the conveniences of the plot, there would be no “Taken 2;” and Liam Neeson is just too much man for only one foreign country.  Before long, Murad and his goons are snatching up both Lenore and Bryan, who then must utilize his skills to escape and save the day.

“Taken 2” offers the fresh twist of side-lining Neeson for a brief period and actually making the Mills character vulnerable.  This is done in favor of highlighting Maggie Grace as she takes tips from Bryan over the phone in order to surmise his location.  The only problem is, Maggie Grace is not a convincing action star, and her frantic flailing is only a reminder that the film is wasting precious moments by not showing Liam Neeson take out the bad guys.  With the first “Taken,” I felt that things came a little too easy for him; none of the villains were really a match for him and therefore, posed no real challenge or convincing conflict.  But having him tied up in “Taken 2” proves why that idea works so well.  There is really nobody who could carry a movie with this thin of a plot other than Liam Neeson.   Once he gets his hands free and gets Kim to safety, however, the sequel regains its pulse.

Olivier Megaton hasn’t directed many American films, with his only stand-out features being “Transporter 3” and “Columbiana,” both of which are Luc Besson productions.  I even read an interview where he said that he doesn’t really like action movies all that much and his frantic style may be the proof of that.   “Taken 2” is a great deal shakier than the first, with quick-cuts and choppy editing that make for a much more jarring experience.  These qualms aside, it’s still well-choreographed and has the familiar visceral impact of the first film’s action. 

I don’t see much point in comparing “Taken 2” with the first “Taken” because it’s not exactly like that one was a masterpiece.  If you go for the sheer pleasure of watching Liam Neeson strong-arm his way through countless bad guys, then by all means, this is what you’re looking for.  The worst you could say about it is that isn’t quite as surprising or as engaging as the original.  You can attribute that to a lesser director or to a “been there, done that” script, but whatever you do, don’t you dare blame Liam Neeson.