Taken 2

Lesson: Don't Go to Europe

If you want to try to take any lesson away from the Taken films, I guess it would be: don't vacation to Europe, France or otherwise. Fortunately enough, I don't take films like these seriously in such a "message" - though I highly doubt that's the intended message, given that the co-writer and producer of both films is Luc Besson, a French filmmaker. I don't think his intention is to give his country and continent a bad name. I don't think.

Taken was a surprisingly fun and entertaining thrill ride, launching Liam Neeson to action-star status and raking in a $225 million+ box office on a modest budget of $25 million (modest for the amount of chaos, destruction, and bullet count of the film). But that film succeeded in entertaining thrills because it never tried to be more than it was, never thought it was smarter than it could possibly be, and never stopped moving. The last part of that sentence is true for its sequel, I guess, but the rest couldn't be further from accurate.

It is simply amazing that such a viscerally energetic film could be so utterly boring. There are many reasons for this; the primary is that it suffers the same formula of The Hangover II. That is to say, it replays many of the exact plot points of its predecessor. Taken followed a simple, yet at least somewhat original, plot design: a father with some badass skills at tracking people down and killing them has to chase bad guys around Europe to find his kidnapped daughter. It's simple, the film realized its simplicity, and it never stopped moving. I can still rewatch that movie to this day and be entertained by it. In its abysmal sequel, Brian Mills (Neeson) is now back with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and has a much stronger relationship with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). You know, because he saved her life and all.

This time around, Bryan invites Lenore and Kim to come to Istanbul, Turkey for a little vacation. You'd think the Mills, particularly Kim, would never want to go to Europe ever again. But, the screenplay requires it, and thus they do. They probably couldn't vacation to France as I'm sure that country never wants to see Brian again.

From the trailers, it's clear Taken 2 turns the tables slightly by having Brian and Lenore kidnapped, rather than Kim. At least for a brief period of time (what kind of Neeson action film would this be if he were in captivity the entire time?). In the first film, Brian told his daughter: "They're going to take you." Inevitably, in Taken 2, he tells his daughter "your mother and I are going to be taken." Wow, how radically original of a tale this film tells.

What follows is a series of shootings, car chases, running, and hand-to-hand combat. Not unlike the original. But unlike the original, it lacks flair and any sort of unique ideas. The chases have been done before, and better. The character motivations are either nonexistent, flimsy, or once again (especially in Neeson's case), been done before. If there was a film that should be titled "Been There Done That," Taken 2 and The Hangover II would be at the top of the list.

I won't proclaim the acting of Taken to be extraordinary. It was Neeson's show - he was in almost every scene, the only character with a real goal, but he kept it visceral and moving. With the sequel, Maggie Grace as his daughter, and Famke Janssen as his ex-wife (now girlfriend/wife again?) get more screen-time, but just as little to actually do. Their performances, like their characters, are as one-note as can be. Grace is either exuberant because she's not getting chased or shot at, or she's ruffled and crying because she is. Janssen (a fine actress, see: Turn the River) is similarly one-note. It's not their fault, the screenplay simply has no sympathy for character growth or motivation.

I won't say the directing is worse than the original. It is no better, though. With a bullet-ridden, thin screenplay, there isn't much director Olivier Megaton (pretty cool name) could do to make it much better. It's a testament to the importance of the screenwriter: give a director 110 blank pages and see what he can do with it.

Actually, in the case of Taken 2, 110 blank pages of a screenplay may have resulted in a better film.

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