Taken 2 (2012) * 1/2

Directed by: Olivier Megaton

Starring:  Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace

There are more laughs in Taken 2 than in many comedies I've seen recently.   That's not a good thing, since Taken 2 is an action thriller so ludicrous you can't help but point out the plot holes.   There are so many it becomes a list.     The original Taken (2008) was a stark, simple thriller in which Neeson takes out numerous baddies in search of his kidnapped daughter.    It worked.   Taken 2 does a lot of things, but work isn't one of them.   Thrillers must work with pinpoint precision, but alas Taken 2 simply flies off the rails.    Let me count the ways how:

*   The film's plot involves relatives of the numerous men Neeson killed in the original seeking revenge by kidnapping Neeson and his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) while all three are vacationing in Turkey.    Why kidnapping and not just putting a bullet in their heads?   Besides the fact there would be no movie, the head villain wants them to die slowly.   In other words, they will give Neeson time to figure a way out of the situation.

*   The captors conveniently allow Neeson to be alone so he can free himself from being tied up and make calls to his daughter to assist in his efforts.   When Neeson and his ex are captured and held at gunpoint, the baddies inexplicably allow Neeson to make a call to his daughter explaining what is happening and what to do.    I can't fathom, even in a movie, why they would allow this.    This scene is supposed to echo the famous scene in Taken in which Neeson talks by phone to his daughter right before she is taken hostage.

*  As Neeson is on the phone instructing his daughter on how to find them, he asks her to go into his suitcase, which is equipped with numerous gadgets including grenades.   Grenades?   Yes, he is on a bodyguarding assignment in Turkey, but where does he think he will need grenades?    I guess his hunch was correct because three of them are used to blow up various things.

*  Neeson and his daughter escape and lead the villains in a chase all over Istanbul.    Fortunately, there aren't many people out in the daytime so they don't have to worry about running anyone over.    The two crash through the U.S. Embassy checkpoint and when they crash, Neeson talks to his daughter for a few minutes and then apparently escapes.    How did he get away?   Does he think the embassy will be ok with having their checkpoint run over once they hear her story?  

*  Neeson kills the baddies with one shot while the baddies can't hit him once despite shooting hundreds of rounds.    This is standard in action thrillers, but it sure is tiresome by now.

*  Do the minions who chase Neeson and company through Istanbul ever think to themselves, "Why couldn't we just kill him when he had him tied up to a pipe?   If we did that, we wouldn't be doing this shit."

*  If I were Neeson and his family, I wouldn't consider leaving home, let alone flying to another foreign country.    They are 0 for 2 in going to a foreign nation without being kidnapped.    They live in Los Angeles, but I wouldn't even travel to Anaheim if I were them.

*  Apparently, the police can't seem to track down Neeson even though he is a 6'5" white man walking around the streets of Turkey.   And after all of this is said and done, are they allowed to just go home even though there are a bunch of dead bodies, property damage, and not to mention the embassy breach?   It seems so.

I'm sure there are many more odd things about Taken 2, but I think I've made my point.