Taken 2

Actually, I don’t know what I was expecting. Taken was an amazing action movie, where Liam Neeson showed me for the first time what a tough guy he is. The revenge in Taken 2 began already in the first instalment and had nothing new to offer. The first instalment came to a conclusion and this one was mostly about making money. At least it seemed so. It would be okay if the camera wasn’t shaking so much that it made the action disappear and after watching the movie all that stayed in your head were endless ticks and uncontrollable moves from side to side that you couldn’t stop for the whole evening. Sometimes I can accept a shaky camera, but it all matters on the quality of the filmmaking. Sometimes it seems okay, other times it makes me want to kill someone. This movie suffered the usual syndrome of sequels. Make a cooler movie with more action but as cheaply as possible. Or as expensive as possible? I don’t really know. The first instalment was more raw, more real, natural and most of all more comprehensible than this useless flick which really disappointed me. (13.05.2013)

Honestly, I have to say that Retribution wasn't as good as the first installment. I don't know why, Liam Neeson is obviously perfect again, his charisma radiates for miles, Istanbul is perfect, as well as Famke Janssen, who got much more space. Olivier Megaton apparently doesn't have it all under control because it wasn't as fun as the first installment. And unfortunately, even the second time after almost ten years, although I had good memories. Nevertheless, I give it 70%. (03.02.2013)

I should have expected this. Liam Neeson is still cool and I still enjoy his bloody solutions to problems. Maggie Grace isn’t as tiresome as in part one and the driving school episode is pretty funny. The rest is just painful, a sequel based on public demand, directed by action-bungling Olivier Megaton, and the result is as it is. Sometimes it aspires to being a Bourne, sometimes a Bond, but Bryan has his own way of doing things. We saw that in Paris. With any luck, part three will set things straight. And the remaining two sons are fine pieces of work who will make decent enemies for the aging Neeson. (22.12.2012)

The "Bryan Mills" franchise is supposed to be a Europacorp showpiece, so I consider the retarded script, overflowing with pointless clichés and directorial bullshit that absolutely fails to understand the point of a great character, as the perfect counterpoint to the pro-customer approach. I also consider the fact that in many ways it literally merges with its main source of inspiration as just a greedy attempt to make a buck without any major creative merit. Corporate film par excellence. (04.10.2014)

Nowhere near as thrilling as the first one, even Liam Neeson looks noticeably more bored, you can almost see that he doesn't want to deal with the whole situation again. There's a lack of creativity, a lack of toughness, a lack of believability. The first film had many unforgettable scenes, within realistic limits, perhaps even authentic. Here, there's hardly even one. It has a few decent action sequences, but otherwise it's just a confusingly edited routine without a trace of invention. I don't understand how such a great and original first installment becomes an average B-movie without any ambition. I didn't enjoy it at all, and I really like the first one. I expected repetitive plot twists, but not such a weaker imitation. (18.02.2013)