Cinematic Releases: Taken 2

Taken 2 is the exact reason that people hate most remakes. It is a travesty of a film that does absolutely nothing to further the story of the characters from the original Taken movie. It's a stagnant film that never even comes close to a cohesive plot and actually makes me question Liam Neeson's choice in starring in another Taken movie. This is a prime example of franchise milking that is truly disrespectful to the people that paid admission to see this absolutely terrible sequel. It's that bad.

To believe that Maggie Grace was a teenager was a stretch 4 years ago. Now, it's just plain stupid. The woman is 30 years old. Trying to pass her off as a tearful, doe eyed teen in trouble is a belligerent misstep on the part of the casting director and the writers of this terrible film. Throughout both films, her character still remains the same innocent girl despite the odds she's facing. Considering the constant barrage of  kidnappers, explosions and gunshots, shouldn't she have evolved in to a hard ass, cold blooded, calculated killer of sweaty foreigners?

When considering a sequel, they shouldn't have involved the family again but should have gone in a completely different direction with Neeson's character. Instead, this movie is a sad rehash of the original (which I really liked) making it one of the biggest failures of 2012. Liam should take note and distance himself from this franchise. These are the kinds of movies that will eventually piss off the audience that loves him so.

Don't bother with Taken 2. It's a dreadful movie that spins the plot of the first movie in to another lame story that doesn't even bother with a satisfactory conclusion. I would gladly volunteer to be waterboarded by Albanian kidnappers than ever sit through this dreck again. Terrible.