Taken 2 (2012)

The second installment is definitely decent enough, though I have to say it doesn't come anywhere close to the greatness of the first one, because everything feels a bit too predictable for my taste and I honestly left the theater feeling pretty underwhelmed since it really could have been so much better than this.

rustywalker1 said:It’s pure action, and if you're looking for a deep plot, you're going to be disappointed. Just like most action flicks.

That would be pretty ridiculous, wouldn't it?

just some kind of fairy tale😂

Finally sat down to watch it, and honestly? It’s just classic Luc Besson through and through.
Just 85 minutes of pure, unadulterated nonsense.😛
WHAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ABOUT THIS GUY IS HOW HE HANDLES PLOT HOLES!

1. He realizes the kid has a boyfriend, so he shows up at the house to teach her how to drive—then suddenly, later in the movie, she’s tearing through the streets like a pro driver from Top Gear despite having zero driving experience. Besson’s logic is basically... hmm... screw it, she'll just drive like a total badass.🙏

2. In almost any other movie, a .50 cal would blow everything to pieces, but here? Not even a scratch. But hey, whatever, he and his daughter manage to punch through a full military blockade—and we're talking US Marines here, not some ragtag militia—so how does he protect her while he goes off to hunt people down in the middle of Istanbul? Hmm... let's see... Besson thinks about it... oh, forget it, he'll just call some tech geniuses to fix it, next scene.
CUT TO:

The main guy just magically appears on the street.🙏

Highly recommend everyone go read the "Total Joke Script" analysis.
http://www.the-editing-room.com/taken-2.html

And that bit about the unit? Man, I was dying laughing.🤣

Bryan Mills will return. 😬

Let them keep grinding away—getting 85 or 90 minutes of pure mental focus on the field is never a bad thing.

So, you're telling me you can just wander around Istanbul tossing bombs and nobody even blinks? Might have to give that a shot since I'm heading there soon.
And how is it that nobody noticed those police cars look like they’re straight out of the 70s? Is it possible Americans actually think Turkey is that backwards? Has anyone here even been there?

The first one is easily in my top 5 movies of all time😍

The second isn't quite there, but it's still solid... just a bit more naive😁

I haven't gotten around to watching the sequel yet, but I caught the first one on TV again last night. It really reminded me just how much of a genius Bryan Mills is. 😁 He honestly has everything you'd want in a classic tough guy.
The funny man part for me was when he handed that guy in Paris a hundred bucks just to stay out of a beating, even though Mills could've easily sent him straight to the ICU in about two moves. 🤣

Drew Sanchez82 said:I haven't gotten around to watching the sequel yet, but I caught the first one on TV again last night. It really reminded me just how much of a genius Bryan Mills is. 😁 He honestly has everything you'd want in a classic tough guy.
The funny man part for me was when he handed that guy in Paris a hundred bucks just to stay out of a beating, even though Mills could've easily sent him straight to the ICU in about two moves. 🤣

That’s one of the most intense scenes in the whole movie, though he didn't give him the hundred dollars to avoid a beating—it was so he wouldn't plant a wire on him...

Drew Sanchez82 said:I haven't gotten around to watching the sequel yet, but I caught the first one on TV again last night. It really reminded me just how much of a genius Bryan Mills is. 😁 He honestly has everything you'd want in a classic tough guy.
The funny man part for me was when he handed that guy in Paris a hundred bucks just to stay out of a beating, even though Mills could've easily sent him straight to the ICU in about two moves. 🤣

The first part is honestly brilliant. I can handle a little bit of action in a 21st-century flick now and then, but this one? I absolutely loved it.
Nonstop action from start to finish. I mean, Liam Neeson is just a total phenomenon when he plays a badass.
The second part was honestly just a cheap imitation of the first one. It really could have been so much better than what we actually got.
I don't know, I'm honestly kind of dreading the third part. It's actually making me pretty anxious. 🤣

Harold Mitchell4 said:That’s one of the most intense scenes in the whole movie, though he didn't give him the hundred dollars to avoid a beating—it was so he wouldn't plant a wire on him...

I totally missed that connection at first, but it makes perfect sense since he ends up overhearing everything later while he's driving his car.
It actually cracked me up more because of how he tries to negotiate—like, "please don't hit me," when he's basically begging them to just knock him out.

In that version they aired on FOX, they actually cut the scene where he’s got that guy strapped to the chair, flips the switch, then turns it off... and the guy claims that's everything he knows. Bryan just looks at him and says, "I believe you..." and the scene ends right there.

But in the original cut, he admits he was lying, hits the switch, and the guy dies on the spot. It’s a much darker setup, and honestly, it's what sets the stage for the sequel since Mark is actually the son of 😁

Who else would be getting sanctified besides Mark, from Tropoja? 😁
Maybe even Mozd Serbedji doesn't realize what his little protégé actually did to that elite CIA agent.

Those who know, know. He told him back in part two... 😁I really hope I didn't just spoil it for you... 😁

Both sequels are solid—predictable, sure, because you need that happy ending to satisfy everyone, but thank God we’re actually starting to make movies like this in America too (instead of just those depressing social dramas or forced comedies everywhere else)

Can't wait for the third one. It was kind of a funny man moment watching her sprinting across rooftops throwing grenades—I mean, seriously, how was that not suspicious in Kabul??😂I'm over Famke Jansen. Honestly, she looks more like a guy than a woman to me. Hopefully she stays out of the third part.

Here’s a look at the dream sequence and the second part... honestly, this one feels even more intense than anything Steven Spielberg ever put together. They might have leaned a bit too hard into how effortless it is to take down enemies; he's basically clearing out half of New Jersey without breaking a sweat or even getting a scratch on him.

Harold Mitchell4 said:Here’s a look at the dream sequence and the second part... honestly, this one feels even more intense than anything Steven Spielberg ever put together. They might have leaned a bit too hard into how effortless it is to take down enemies; he's basically clearing out half of New Jersey without breaking a sweat or even getting a scratch on him.

Look, I don't care if he's killing everyone, but the woman is just running across rooftops tossing grenades like it's nothing. 🤣I expected way more from this. The first movie actually had a decent plot...

I’d say the second installment falls a few notches short of the first, which really felt more like a gritty, dark action flick. Look, I get it—it’s a movie, and it doesn't need to be a documentary—but there were moments where the lack of realism was so blatant it actually made my head spin. You hit all the usual marks, sure; you've got the bomb blasts tearing through New York City, but then you have these car chases where this girl somehow drives better than a seasoned stunt driver, despite having barely passed her driving test—if she even passed it at all, honestly, I can't quite remember.

It’s even more glaring when you notice how many times they crash during that chase, yet the car remains somehow pristine🤣. There is this one specific moment where you see a collision cause visible damage, but then the very next shot shows that exact same panel looking factory-fresh. I suppose that's just standard Hollywood logic for action flicks, which might not be a dealbreaker for some, but here it’s so blatant that it feels somewhat ridiculous.