Taken 2 2012

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: This film, lazy and mismanaged as it is, just feels like the only thing that's going to get taken unjustly is your money. Read more

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: Seems like a nonstop car and foot chase, with Albanian after Albanian falling victim to Bryan's remarkable aim and hand-fighting skills. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: As they might say in the advertising department, it's an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. But it could have been much more. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: "Taken 2" is nothing more than a naked cash grab. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Neeson's Jason Statham-ization continues apace, but it's looking less and less like a welcome development. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: If a viewer enjoyed the exotic locale and fast-paced action in the original film, here they get a different city and even more amped-up happenings, with a plot that intrigues enough to reel a viewer in. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: It's a stupid movie by smart people who aren't smart enough to realize it's stupid. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine: See Neeson kill -- kill, Neeson kill! Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Neeson is once again the stalwart center of this giddy, entirely improbable and improbably enjoyable escapade. Read more

Joy Tipping, Dallas Morning News: It's the same movie, second verse, but unfortunately with far less suspense this time around. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: The one thing that comes across is Neeson's character really likes fighting Albanians. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: Taken 2 ... has the requisite abductions, speeding cars and Americans in danger on foreign soil, but the only ones truly taken for a ride here are those of us in the audience. Read more

Bernard Besserglik, Hollywood Reporter: Moviegoers who liked Taken and want more of the same will get precisely that. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: [Neeson's] acting makes him seem human and even vulnerable, someone we can't help but worry over even though it's those feckless Albanians we should be nervous about. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "Taken 2" is nearly all nonsense, with villains so inept and slow-moving that there's little satisfaction in watching Mills take them out. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: An arcade game provides pretty much the same "entertainment" and it's a lot easier on the wallet. And kinder, maybe, to your memories of Liam Neeson. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, NPR: Taken 2 must not be taken 2 seriously, although at the very least Megaton could have found better ways to use all those glorious, antique-looking Istanbul backdrops. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: There doesn't seem to be a whole lot at stake in a movie where you can crash your way through the armed barricades at the American embassy with a stolen taxicab and survive without a scratch. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Rigorously formulaic and far-fetched ... Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Taken 2 is more of the same, except a little bigger, a little dumber, and a little less invigorating. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: A sloppy, lazy, unintentionally laughable sequel. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The cast is uniformly capable and dead serious, and if you're buying what Luc Besson is selling, he's not short-changing you. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A meta-American movie, a Godardian spoof of the whole genre, an attempt to see how stupid and insulting a motion picture can be and still be a big hit. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: As much as this picture is action driven, its greatest delights are grounded in personality, in the fun of having a protagonist who combines homespun values with velociraptor functionality. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: So lazily put together that it relies on flashbacks from its predecessor for the majority of its character development. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Why an actor of Neeson's ability would play this character once, let alone twice, is a mystery for the ages. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Just a mediocre action franchise with a solid actor at the head and a travelogue in its heart. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The first thing to be kidnapped is logic, as the action moves to Istanbul from Paris and Liam Neeson ridiculously reprises his role of avenging ex-CIA dad Bryan Mills. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Less a movie than it is a cinematic waterboarding. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: A cynical, contemptuous film whose sole reason for existing appears to be to squeeze the pockets of anyone who enjoyed the first movie. Don't give it the satisfaction. Read more

Scott Bowles, USA Today: Taken 2 is a rehash of the original. Fortunately, they're leftovers from a fine first course. Read more

Charles Gant, Variety: Neeson, despite having turned 60 in June, looks spritely enough in the role, and more than capable of another go-round should Taken 2 match its predecessor's success. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Any breathing room from the hurtling narrative illogic only allows the audience opportunity to notice slips in Mills's father-knows-best infallibility. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: A sequel every bit as clumsy, ham-handed, outlandish and laughable as the original was sleek, tough and efficient. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "Taken 2" is so much lousier than need be, and its action sequences look as if they were put together by someone who doesn't know what he's doing. Read more