“Taken 2” where? Ha – ha. It’s time to bring Liam Neeson back as Brian Mills       , the super CIA agent in retirement who now takes on private security clients. If you remember “Taken” from 2008 (wow, that long ago already),he had the misfortune of having his daughter “taken” by the bad guys, who wanted to enslave her in an international sex ring. They didn’t succeed – in fact, they pretty much all died.

           As the sequel opens, we find they were Albanian men and the unusual twist is that the father of one of the dead guys decides they all will take revenge and hunt and kill our man Brian.

          I can’t remember a movie built around the family of anonymous dead bad guys seeking “justice” or revenge. I have to give some credit there – but most else about this movie is been there, done that. It’s just a good thing steady Liam is in charge. It might have fallen off the movie cliff.

         The other “twist” is that this time it’s a “family affair”. Brian takes his ex-wife and daughter with him on a business trip to Istanbul, Turkey and that’s when the bad guys pounce. But I should mention before that happens, time is spent getting you to realize, again, that Brian was made for his line of work. Trying to be a good Dad, he looks after his daughter like she’s a high priced client and he can’t help but be constantly vigilant for threats. At this point, the only real threat to his kid is her new love interest. Poor Brian is simply a workaholic – it’s only fitting he has to once again fight for his life and his family’s life. But about that daughter – how old is she? Because she looks 25, acts about 17 as she is preparing for a driving test (another family side story). The characters credibility is a bit of a stretch here.

        Now for the “ been there done that” stuff, including a too long car chase, killers who take too long to carry out their dirty deeds and the usual assortment of quick kills by our expert.

        There’s nothing wrong with that – it comes with the territory of this story, it’s just that I looked at this as more of “go ahead, let’s get on with it. There are nice scenes of Turkey although I’m not sure I’ll visit anytime soon. And what a point for political incorrectness, having violent swarthy men chase the American family through the streets of Istanbul, while burka clad women stare at the strange white people on the run. It’s a good thing some of the bad guys get distracted by a soccer game on the TV, so Brian has a chance to pounce.

        What did impress me again is showcasing Brian’s ability to not only shoot up the thugs, but also his training in calculating his way through his predicaments. You know – wind currents, sounds, stuff we ignore he is always tuned in to.  Because Neeson is such a fine actor, it’s a pleasure to watch him work through the details of how to best escape or track something. Plus, the guy just knows how to look both confident and scared at the same time. Without Liam, this would be a losing proposition. I give “Taken 2” a “6”.