Taken 2. Rated M (violence). 92 minutes. Directed by Olivier Megaton. Screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
Verdict: Guns, guns and more guns star in this toxic little sideshow of brutally stark
propaganda about whose family means more.
What ends up being most
interesting about this morally bankrupt little piece of work is the extent to
which one can chart the collapse of Hollywood’s moral and cultural codes by the
collapse of Liam Neeson’s career as an actor. The man who brought us the
extraordinarily thoughtful, considered and culturally relevant characters of
Oskar Schindler (Schindler’s List),
Michael Collins (Michael Collins)
and Alfred Kinsey (Kinsey) has
been reduced to a vengeful, shoot-em-up action hero – and the result is as
gruesome as it is tiresome. If there was ever to be the moment to mourn the
passing of the well-made, meaningful, epic human drama, then this toxic little
sideshow is it.
