Taken 2

In the original Taken, Kim (Maggie Grace), daughter of former CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), was abducted in Paris by Albanian sex traffickers, after which Mills embarked on a bloody one-man rescue mission. As this sequel begins, Bryan and his wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) are divorced and sharing custody of teenage Kim, who is not only trying (for the third time) to obtain her driver's license but also has her first boyfriend. When Lenore confides that her new husband has cancelled their family vacation, Bryan impulsively invites his ex-wife and daughter to meet him in Istanbul to tour the exotic sites along the Bosphorus, including the Suleymaniye Mosque and Grand Bazaar. Here, Bryan and Lenore are snatched by revenge-seeking Albanians, led by a bitter tribal chief (Rade Sherbedgia), who has vowed diabolical vengeance for the death of his gangster son. Director Olivier Megaton has young Kim escaping capture, adroitly scampering over Turkish rooftops and tossing grenades, while also following specific telephoned directions from her calm, remarkably resourceful father as he's held captive, and her blindfolded mother is tortured. Implausible? Yes. Absurd? Yes. Will there be a Taken 3? Most likely. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an alternate ending (25 min.), the FX Movie Channel-produced “In Character with Liam Neeson” featurette (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a pop-up “Black Ops Field Manual” viewing option with facts and a kill counter, deleted scenes (7 min.), “Sam's Tools of the Trade” segment on weapons (4 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fairly ridiculous sequel.] (S. Granger)