DVD Review: Taken 2 (+trailer)

Retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) might not look like much but he is not to be challenged.

We met Mills in Taken (2008) when he had to rescue his daughter who had been abducted in Paris to work in an illegal prostitution ring.

Against the odds, he overcame a ruthless band of Albanian gangsters, spilling plenty of blood along the way.

Mills thought his troubles were over. But back in Albania, bodies were being buried and families were grieving for their lost sons and brothers. And they vowed revenge on Mills.

And so Taken 2 is born.

Mills is getting on better with his grown-up daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and invites them to join him in Istanbul for a holiday when he finishes his latest private security assignment.

Also on the way to Turkey are the Albanians who hear their nemesis is about and want to inflict pain on Mills and his family.

Murad Krasniqi (Rade Serbedzija) lost his son in their initial encounter and nothing less than Mills' death will avenge his loss.

Murad wants all the Mills family but Kim manages to escape the initial kidnap.

While Mills tries to escape the kidnapper's lair, he also communicates with Kim to keep her safe and help him secure freedom.

As sequels go Taken 2 has done a great job in presenting a plausible follow-up that maintains the path set in the original but also holds its own as a stand-alone action thriller.

Taken 2

(M) 20th Century Fox

Rating: 3.5 / 5