liam neeson in 'taken 2' 



taken 2.jpg

Famous face, deadly hands … Liam Neeson keeps the action moving as dirty tricks veteran Bryan Mills.

Reviewer rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Reader rating:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (17 votes)

Directed by Olivier Megaton
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Rated M. 92 minutes
Cinemas everywhere

THE Taken movies are shaping up as the right-wing answer to the Bourne series.

Jason Bourne is waging a personal war against the CIA's dirty tricks department. In contrast, Taken's Bryan Mills is a dirty tricks veteran, a master of the agency's blackest arts, and retirement hasn't slowed him down one bit.

He has a lot in common with Jack Bauer, hero of the TV series 24. Eleven years ago, when Bauer started using torture in the course of his investigations, he outraged many people while doing absolutely no damage to the series' popularity. And something similar has happened with Bryan, who has proved a big moneymaker, possibly because he's played by Liam Neeson, possessor of one of the screen's most trustworthy faces. The sad eyes, the rueful smile, the strong bone structure and the attractively broken nose all denote someone who can take care of himself - and you.

But Bryan's sense of altruism is very selective. He cares about his family, and that's it. Get in his way and you may well end up as collateral damage. One of the first Taken's most indelible moments had him shooting a woman in the shoulder after getting up from her dining table. He had nothing against her food - or her. Her husband was the person he was seeking to impress. He even apologised afterwards with the gallant phrase, "It's only a flesh wound".

At the time, he was in Paris, hunting down the Albanian gangsters who had kidnapped his teenage daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), and he succeeded so spectacularly that more Albanians are on his trail in this movie, determined to avenge their scores of dead relatives.

This all takes place in Istanbul, where Bryan has taken Kim and her mother, Lenore (Famke Janssen), on holiday. While Bryan and the word, holiday, do not seem to belong in the same sentence, he has his reasons. Lenore's new husband lost so much credit in the first film that their marriage is now in trouble. So Bryan is cherishing hopes of winning her back.

The Albanians, who hail from the same village as his original antagonists, are led by their patriarch, Murat. He's played by Croatian actor Rade Sherbedgia (Mission: Impossible 2), a man who has even more gravitas than Neeson. This fact alone constitutes an improvement on the first film. And while Bryan has lost none of his efficiency as a killing machine, he's not torturing anybody this time. Even so, innocent bystanders do need to beware.

The dialogue hasn't improved. Ask Bryan what he's going to do and he'll invariably say: "What I do best." He doesn't go in for small talk. Nor do the screenwriters, French film-maker Luc Besson and his writing partner, Robert Mark Kamen, who's served on many of the big action movies of recent years. Besson and Kamen created this series but they've farmed them out to different directors. This one was done by the aptly named Olivier Megaton, who came to it from the Jason Statham movie Transporter 3, another Besson production, and he's done well with his brief, which requires him to keep the action flowing seamlessly and preposterously while showing off as many tourist sites as possible. As Bryan plays havoc with the Istanbul traffic, we glimpse the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and Sancta Sophia as well as being treated to a breathless tour of the city's alleys and back streets.

Grace has a larger role this time, receiving a comprehensive crash course in CIA tradecraft, driving at speed while hitting things and dashing across Istanbul's rooftops without falling off. Janssen, on the other hand, has no fun at all. She merely has to look stoic while the Albanians tease her with the imminent possibility of being carved into tiny pieces.

Towards the end, there are suggestions that Bryan may be tiring of the game, but he's only kidding. The climactic scene sets up another sequel. At this stage, the gangster's Albanian village looks like sustaining enough casualties to rival the one in TV's Midsomer Murders, which just keeps on giving.

Twitter: @SandraHFilm