There is a rule that should always be followed when making a sequel….make it better then the first. Most times this happens and in some instances we’ve had sequels that were even better then the original. We’ve also had sequels that have fallen flat to the point you wonder why it was even produced for the public to view. So where does Taken 2 fall into this hierarchy of sequeldom? Is it better then the first, much about the same, or so bad that you wonder why it was even created?

The plot is very easy to follow – while in Istanbul, Bryan (Liam Neeson) is visited by his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and their daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Bryan is targeted by Murad (Rade Serbedzija)and the Albanian Cabal he leads, as this is the same group that took Kim months ago in France for sex trafficking purposes. Murad also happens to be the father of Marko – the man that took Kim and was eventually electrocuted by Bryan. Murad’s group is looking to avenge the death of their “family” and take action on Bryan for what he did.

Taken 2 has a lot of what we liked in the fist movie – Bryan taking his anger and skills out on bad guys. This time around there was less torture action and more car chase action. However, this line from Die Hard 2 came to mind as I was watching the movie, “Why does this keep happening to us?”. And I have to agree as there really wasn’t much else they could do plot wise. You knew that he wasn’t going to be chasing down a pizza order that had taken over 30 minutes to get to him. So by bringing in the twist that included his wife and daughter you added a level of danger for Bryan that wasn’t there in the first film.

I liked the first movie and this one didn’t disappoint either. Taken 2 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

And look at that, I was able to get through an entire review and not once type the title as Taken 2: Electric Boogaloo.