Watching the new trailer for Taken 2 we have mixed feelings. The first film was a glossy guilty pleasure and there's little doubt that Liam Neeson does a great line in pissed-off father with military-training... essentially taking the plot of a thousand '80s direct-to-video films and making something dynamic enough for a modern audience
Of course, success breeds a sequel and it will debut in the UK in a few months' time. Will the sequel live up to the original? The action quotient is clearly still there and Neeson still looks grumpy and well-armed... we're just not sure if this could have a whiff of the Die Hardesque 'how much bad stuff can happen to one guy and his family and still survive?' motif which can hobble productions that just repeat the formula. That being said, Taken 2 appears to demonstrate high production values and a good gunfire/minute ratio, so its success will hang on the suspension of disbelief and the quality of the over-all story.
Watch the trailer and judge for yourself...
