Distributor: 20th
Century Fox
Opening Weekend Box Office:
#1 with $49,514,769
Domestic Box Office
Gross to-date: $86,759,000
Gross Revenue: $218,809,000
Production Budget:
$45 million
Director: Oliver Megaton
Back in 2008, Luc Besson’s modestly
budgeted tale of an ex-CIA agent tearing apart Paris to retrieve his kidnapped
daughter hit the box office like a lightning bolt and garnered Liam Neeson a
whole new generation of fans, so I’m sure that many, like myself, were
downright giddy when the trailer for Taken
2 was released. Now, from a
marketing standpoint, it was near-impossible to create a defined selling point
and attention-grabber like the now-iconic “good luck” phone message from the
original trailer, but given the massive fan base that now exists for the Brian
Mills character, I don’t think that 20th Century Fox had too much to
worry about. And, while the original was
initially perceived as a standalone tale that didn’t really lend itself to a
sequel, I had to admit that I was very curious concerning the expanded roles
that Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen were being granted this time around…and
really, who wouldn’t want to see more of Liam Neeson beating the hell out of
criminals? Unfortunately, warning bells
started to go off when I saw the shamefully low critical reception that this
sequel was receiving, thereby generating memories of other sequel missteps like
Hangover 2; but then again, critics
weren’t raving about the original when it was first released, so maybe
everything would end up all right in the end.
After a ridiculously strong September that included entries like Dredd, End of Watch, and Looper,
Taken 2 had potential to be the icing
on the cake for loyal theatrical audiences and inject some much-needed life
into the box office.
Following the considerable
bloodshed and destruction that Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) used to punish
sex-traffickers during the events of the original film, Taken 2 opens with Murad Hoxha (Rade Šerbedžija), the leader of the
Albanian gang that was killed in Paris, swearing revenge on the American who
took away his family. Conveniently
enough, Mills happens to be working a security detail in Istanbul and is soon
surprised when his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and ex-wife, Lenore (Famke
Janssen), arrive for a much-needed vacation.
While her parents decide to tour the city, Kim stays behind in the hotel
to allow them time to rekindle their relationship, but unfortunately, Hoxha’s
men have already identified and seek to capture each member of the Mills
family. Though Brian soon realizes that
he is being pursued, Lenore is captured and he is forced to surrender, but not
before he is able to warn Kim and help her evade capture. Facing a seemingly perilous situation, the
ex-CIA agent must use all of the skills at his disposal to save himself and his
family, all the while ensuring that these criminals never threaten the safety
of his loved ones again.
As one might expect, Liam Neeson is
once again at the top of his game in Taken
2, dominating the screen and solidifying his bankability as an A-lister,
brutally and creatively punishing the villains of this narrative in a way that
is guaranteed to please audiences. While
the rushed and energetic pacing of the original is absent this time around,
that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some downright cool elements present,
whether that involves a gripping car chase through the streets of Istanbul or a
sequence where Kim helps her father by using grenades as a form of
echo-location. And, even though it may
be a bit of a stretch of the imagination, it is still entertaining to see
Maggie Grace embracing her inner super-spy and working with Neeson to stop the
sex-traffickers…talk about a great father-daughter team. If you wanted to judge the narrative of Taken 2 solely against the original, it
is obvious that a great deal of the initial charm and surprise has worn thin,
but there is still a natural progression to the story that does help deepen our
connection to the characters, even if it wasn’t altogether necessary. Now, with elements like these, Taken 2 is undeniably enjoyable, but
there are several other factors that keep overall quality from reaching the
heights of its glorified predecessor.
While I may have just praised the
overall narrative of Taken 2, upon
closer inspection, many of the finer points and subplots are considerably weak,
which, when added to the overall direction, does help explain why certain
critics reacted with such hostility. Like
I hinted at earlier, it is enough of a stretch to believe that Brian Mills
would allow his daughter anywhere near Istanbul, but even if you are able to
get past all that, many of the subplots feel like filler. In the original, after some brief exposition
and character introduction, overall action levels went into overdrive, so with
that kind of reputation, expecting audiences to sit through a scene where Kim
attempts to get her driver’s license just comes across as a thoroughly
infuriating delay until Liam Neeson kills something. And, my regular readers know my opinion regarding
hand-held cameras being used to film fight scenes, so imagine my reaction as
the screen got shaky when Mills finally started fighting…way to detract from
the one thing that a majority of audiences had been waiting for since the
credits rolled back in 2008. In the end,
you should be able to enjoy Taken 2,
but be warned, you are going to need to dramatically adjust your expectations
before heading to the theater.
Well, critics may have responded
negatively to Taken 2, but audiences
clearly ignored the pre-release reception, responding in droves and granting
Liam Neeson’s newest opening the highest October opening for a PG-13 film with
just under $50 million. And momentum
certainly carried into the second weekend, with the sequel earning $22.5
million; more than enough to outperform new releases like Argo, Sinister, Here Comes the Boom, and Seven Psychopaths. And, with a beefy international presence, Taken 2 has already gone north of $200
million against a $45 million budget, all but guaranteeing a sequel if Neeson
decides to return. Now, it was a stretch
revisiting the kidnapping storyline this time around, so I can’t imagine what a
third entry in the series would involve, but with those kind of numbers, I
doubt anyone at 20th Century Fox cares…hey, maybe the time is ripe
for “Taken 3: Stay Home Already.” If you
count yourself among the numerous fans of the original Taken, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to see this sequel, but it isn’t
something that necessitates an immediate trip to the theater.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
