Some of the basic pleasures of the original remain intact (nobody shoots up a small room of bearded Eastern European men like Neeson), but ultimately the film feels compromised.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Boxoffice Magazine by Amy Nicholson
Taken 2 is 91 minutes of "See Neeson kill-kill, Neeson kill!"
None of it is particularly novel or exciting.
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
It's fun enough on its own relatively low-budget merits, but it's really nothing to die – or kill – for.
"What are you going to do?" wails Maggie. "What I do best!" growls Liam. Yet while it's fun to watch him take out the Eurotrash, we've seen him do it better.
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
Taken 2 rarely embodies the values of concision and focus that it extols, and any breathing room from the hurtling narrative illogic only allows the audience opportunity to notice slips in Mills's father-knows-best infallibility.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The cast is uniformly capable and dead serious, and if you're buying what Luc Besson is selling, he's not short-changing you.