96 Hours – Taken 2

Ich kann es einfach nicht verstehen, wie sich unter so ein Drehbuch eine der bedeutendsten europäischen Persönlichkeiten aus der Filmwelt unterschreiben konnte. (16.01.2014)

The "Bryan Mills" franchise is supposed to be a Europacorp showpiece, so I consider the retarded script, overflowing with pointless clichés and directorial bullshit that absolutely fails to understand the point of a great character, as the perfect counterpoint to the pro-customer approach. I also consider the fact that in many ways it literally merges with its main source of inspiration as just a greedy attempt to make a buck without any major creative merit. Corporate film par excellence. (04.10.2014)

Actually, I don’t know what I was expecting. Taken was an amazing action movie, where Liam Neeson showed me for the first time what a tough guy he is. The revenge in Taken 2 began already in the first instalment and had nothing new to offer. The first instalment came to a conclusion and this one was mostly about making money. At least it seemed so. It would be okay if the camera wasn’t shaking so much that it made the action disappear and after watching the movie all that stayed in your head were endless ticks and uncontrollable moves from side to side that you couldn’t stop for the whole evening. Sometimes I can accept a shaky camera, but it all matters on the quality of the filmmaking. Sometimes it seems okay, other times it makes me want to kill someone. This movie suffered the usual syndrome of sequels. Make a cooler movie with more action but as cheaply as possible. Or as expensive as possible? I don’t really know. The first instalment was more raw, more real, natural and most of all more comprehensible than this useless flick which really disappointed me. (13.05.2013)

I should have expected this. Liam Neeson is still cool and I still enjoy his bloody solutions to problems. Maggie Grace isn’t as tiresome as in part one and the driving school episode is pretty funny. The rest is just painful, a sequel based on public demand, directed by action-bungling Olivier Megaton, and the result is as it is. Sometimes it aspires to being a Bourne, sometimes a Bond, but Bryan has his own way of doing things. We saw that in Paris. With any luck, part three will set things straight. And the remaining two sons are fine pieces of work who will make decent enemies for the aging Neeson. (22.12.2012)

Nowhere near as thrilling as the first one, even Liam Neeson looks noticeably more bored, you can almost see that he doesn't want to deal with the whole situation again. There's a lack of creativity, a lack of toughness, a lack of believability. The first film had many unforgettable scenes, within realistic limits, perhaps even authentic. Here, there's hardly even one. It has a few decent action sequences, but otherwise it's just a confusingly edited routine without a trace of invention. I don't understand how such a great and original first installment becomes an average B-movie without any ambition. I didn't enjoy it at all, and I really like the first one. I expected repetitive plot twists, but not such a weaker imitation. (18.02.2013)

Liam Neeson rächt sich wieder mal – diesmal an denjenigen, die sich an ihm rächen, weil er sich im vorigen Film gerächt hat. Der Film ist nicht ganz schlecht, er hätte aber besser sein können. Viel besser. Es stört mich nicht, dass man sich die Handlung ein bisschen aus den Fingern gesaugt hat (einerseits von The Expendables begeistert zu sein und andererseits 96 Hours – Taken 2 zu kritisieren wäre heuchlerisch, oder?). Mit dem Telefonieren in Gefangenschaft, der Bestimmung der Lage mit Granaten und Schnürsenkeln und ähnlichen Momenten hatte ich auch kein Problem. Von den versprochenen Actionszenen gab es viele und Liam Neeson ist echt ein Mordskerl. Schade, dass die Regie, die Kamera, der Schnitt und was weiß ich noch alles doof waren. Das hat nämlich dazu geführt, dass aus den Actionszenen ein verwirrtes und unübersichtliches Durcheinander wurde (es ähnelt dem Chaos in James Bond 007: Ein Quantum Trost). "Geben Sie mir Ihr Wort, dann werde ich die Waffe fallen lassen, mich umdrehen und gehen.“ – "Wieso?“ – "Weil ich es satt habe. Das alles habe ich einfach so satt.“ (13.02.2013)

Teil eins ist unübertroffen, daran besteht kein Zweifel. Doch Teil zwei kam mir nicht so schlimm und schrecklich vor, wie ich nach den Bewertungen, Kommentaren und Kritiken befürchtet hatte. Es hatte nicht die richtige Ladung, der Film nahm nur langsam und langatmig Fahrt auf, und die Action selbst und das Finale waren so bitterkalt, obwohl Liam Neeson von mir nicht zweimal hintereinander eine schreckliche Bewertung bekommen kann :-) es war immer noch nicht so schrecklich und fürchterlich wie A Million Ways To Die In The West. (16.01.2015)

You will not step into the same river twice, it certainly isn't a proverb that Luc Besson recognizes. When something works well, it usually means we can expect a sequel. Although it is true that Besson hasn't made many sequels as a director, he is better off as a screenwriter. Or worse. Series like "Kurýr" or "Taxi" could tell a story. A similar fate befell the film "96 Hours", where Liam Neeson shone as an action hero. He returns, just like his daughter and ex-wife, and of course, the kidnappers and killers who are after him are not absent. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2013/02/96-hodin-odplata-2012-40.html (21.03.2013)