Taken 2

TAKE 1: One Man’s Opinion

…because film is largely subjective

 

by Frederick William Springer III

 

Taken 2

Release Date:   5 October 2012                                                        Runtime:  93 Minutes              

Review Date:  9 December 2012                                                       Rating:  5 (of 6)

As a sequel, Taken 2 is pretty decent, though not as good as the original.  I had been skeptical going in, to retread the premise of the first without making it seem totally unbelievable was a concern I entered with.  It was a concern I need not have.

My gripe comes in the small details.  In the first film, Kim (Maggie Grace) had just turned 17 and shortly thereafter left for Paris on summer vacation.  This film ultimately takes place almost a year later during her spring break—I say “ultimately” as the opening, setting up the plot of this film, shows the bodies of the men Bryan (Liam Neeson) killed in the first film being shipped home and buried as revenge is vowed and I’m sure it didn’t take that long after the first film took place for that to transpire.

The problem here is that Kimmie is just going for her driver’s license NOW.  For one, California residents can get their license at 16.  From the first film, we know Kimmie lives with her wealthy step-father who showers her with expensive things—a life of luxury.  So, why then didn’t she get her license back then, she nearly being 18 now?  And why wouldn’t she have her very own car, too?

That aside, the driving issue rears its head again while they’re in Turkey.  Early in the film it’s established that Kimmie has now twice failed her driving test, which she was taking in an Escalade.  Yet, when called for, she’s not only driving a car through the narrow roads in Turkey, avoiding many obstacles as though she were an experienced driver but the car is MANUAL!  While they don’t actually show her shifting gears, the numbers on the stick along with the three pedals on the floor establish that it’s manual transmission.  If she couldn’t pass her driving test, TWICE, how does she automatically know how to drive manual?

An otherwise good film, my mind just kept coming back to this and doing laps, distracting me from the unfolding story.  I guess the film is tailored more for the ignorant and unobservant.

Conveniently, Bryan’s ex Lenore (Famke Janssen) is going through a rough patch and separated from her husband, however, all indication in the first film was that there were no problems and they were happy.  The separation didn’t bother me though, it was the instant familiarity Bryan had with her, calling her “honey” several times when she arrived for a completely platonic vacation with their daughter.  Yes, we get his character still loves her but also know the distance that had come between them and while one could pass it off as him easily falling into old patterns, that’s not something I’ve come to expect from his very disciplined character.

Other than that, the story itself was good and the fast paced editing did help move us past these oversights.  Well, those of us that weren’t “like a dog with a bone” once we noticed.