Taken 2

Weekend would be no fun kalau kita tak isi dengan perkara/aktiviti yang menyeronokkan, bukan? So I decided to meet up my old colleague, she is actually my junior back in AC and her name is Ada. Dia ni boleh dikira sebagai extended dorm-mate la since she always came over to see Rosanna (official occupant of Dorm X) and had a lame chat with us. Ada is now studying Law at Durham University, even though bunyi macam dekat, tapi itu la first time we all actually met after two years leaving the college. Later, we bumped into another junior, Manisha (my super junior I would say, as she came into Gwynedd in 2010). Nak kata betapa ignorant nya diriku sampai tak tahu yang Manisha tu study at the same place with me, i.e Newcastle University. Manisha came to the toon with other three guys which I already forgot their names couple of seconds after we left them in front of Lau's buffet restaurant for cinema time.

I just finished watching TAKEN 2, and from what I watched, I loved the movie. However, most of my friends said it was lame as they had watched TAKEN before. Then, I watched TAKEN to see the comparison. Okay, the actions are more intellectual in TAKEN because of the language barrier and all, how sharp his listening skill is that he can actually detect the caller's sound by a word GOOD LUCK. But, in TAKEN 2, he also shows his sight skill when he is covered by a black net over his head. He uses any sense he has got to remember the way to the 'jail'. To be honest, both versions are pretty impressive. If in TAKEN, the daughter is so helpless, but in TAKEN 2, she shows her intelligent to actually understand what has been instructed by her father.

Only me doing the review memang tak best la sebab I know nothing about film appreciation. All I know is if I feel good after I watch it, then the movie is perfectly fine. If I feel terrible and dizzy as much as while and after watching Chronicle, then that movie sucks! So, lets see what other people think of this movie.

The Guardian review

Neeson, that utter acting professional, doesn't give it any less than he gave Oskar Schindler. In the first movie, from the tailend of the Bush era, Liam was not shy about using Jack Bauerish torture techniques, wiring up evil-doers to the mains and zapping them with righteous volts. None of that now. That was a 15; this is a 12A, a bit tamer, just as ridiculous, but the premise is looking pretty tired.

The Telegraph review

Like any marketplace, the film industry is subject to inflation, and action- movie sequels tend to surpass their predecessors in terms of explosives detonated, cars crashed, goons maimed, and so on.

Taken 2 bucks this trend. Olivier Megaton’s wan and weedy follow-up to Pierre Morel’s muscularly unpleasant 2008 thriller feels like such a swindle that the original film’s sizeable fanbase may well end up subtitling it “The Cleaners”.

Screenrant review

Unfortunately, Taken 2 is mostly an empty retread that, despite some high-octane action scenes, fails to live up to the successes of its predecessor in every single way. The story is less engaging, character dynamics are less believable, and (worst of all) action set-pieces are less thrilling. Where as the original allowed for a steadily unfolding mystery, Taken 2 features a dizzying back and forth mishmash of story beats that fail to deliver a satisfying climax – and rely heavily on “flashy” moments that lack any real substance. That said, the film isn’t a total misfire and despite underwhelming connections to the original, action fans who merely want to see Neeson snap necks and crash cars will likely find the Taken sequel to be a competent thriller.

Speaking of the main motive of these movies, I found human trafficking and revenge are the most obvious ones i.e fetching alone women travelers and selling them for prostitution and revenge of the relatives when the family members die. It taught me a lot about how I should see REAL life.