In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Bryan Mills: Liam Neeson
- Kim Mills: Maggie Grace
- Lenore: Famke Janssen
- Sam: Leland Orser
- Bernie: D. B. Sweeney
- Casey: Jon Gries
- Murad Krasniqi: Rade Šerbedžija
- Jamie: Luke Grimes
- Inspector Durmaz: Kevork Malikyan
- Suko: Alain Figlarz
- Car Wash Attendant: Frank Alvarez
- Custom Officer Albania: Murat Tuncelli
- Imam: Ali Yildirim
- Mirko: Ergun Kuyucu
- Border Guard #1: Cengiz Bozkurt
- Reception Clerk: Hakan Karahan
- Waiter: Saruhan Sari
- Cheikh: Naci Adigüzel
- Cheikh’s Aide: Aclan Büyüktürkoğlu
- Hotel Driver: Mehmet Polat
- Hotel Thug #1: Yilmaz Kovan
- Hotel Thug #2: Erdogan Yavuz
- Hotel Thug #3: Luran Ahmeti
- Hotel Duty Officer: Cengiz Daner
- Maid Lockers: Melis Erman
- Barber: Erkan Üçüncü
- Man in Street: Ugur Ugural
- Johnson: Alex Dawe
- Jean-Claude: Olivier Rabourdin
- Jean-Claude’s Driver: Michaël Vander-Meiren
- Jean-Claude’s Concierge: Rochelle Gregorie
- Driving Instructor: Luenell
- Hammam Attendant: Emre Melemez
- Albanian Intelligence Officer: İlkay Akdağlı
- Waitress: Mylène Pilutik
- Newsreader: Nathan Rippy
- Border Guard #2: Atilla Pekoz
- Custom Officer #1: Serdar Okten
- Custom Officer #2: Mesut Makul
- Custom Officer #3: Mustafa Akin
- Police Man Car #1: Murat Karatas
- Police Man Car #2: Cuneyt Yanar
- Police Man Antique #1: Baris Adem
- Police Man Antique #2: Hasan Karagulle
- Cop #1: Gazenfer Kokoz
- Cop #2: Remzi Sezgin
- Taxi Driver Kim: Ahmet Orhan Ozcam
- Pool Attendant: Melike Acar
- Pool Waiter: Yasemin Yeltekin
- Pool Man Newspaper: Baris Aydin
- Marine: Kenneth James Dakan
- Coffin Puller: Adil Sak
- Coffin Puller: Bekir Aslantaş
- Coffin Puller: Ercan Kurt
- Coffin Puller: Cetin Arik
- Hammam Cop: Tamer Avkapan
- Antique Shop #1: Erasian Saglam
- Antique Shop #2: Mohammed Mouh
- DJ / Disco: Julian Vinay
- Maid Hotel: Gaelle Oilleau
Film Crew:
- Writer: Luc Besson
- Writer: Robert Mark Kamen
- Casting: John Papsidera
- Casting: Harika Uygur
- Key Hair Stylist: Frédérique Arguello
- Special Effects Supervisor: Philippe Hubin
- Key Makeup Artist: Brian McManus
- Original Music Composer: Nathaniel Méchaly
- Editor: Vincent Tabaillon
- Director: Olivier Megaton
- Aerial Camera: Michael Kelem
- Property Master: Dana MacDuff
- Makeup Department Head: Myke Michaels
- Stunts: Sébastien Peres
- Line Producer: Franck Lebreton
- Stunt Coordinator: Alain Figlarz
- Director of Photography: Romain Lacourbas
- Editor: Camille Delamarre
- Production Design: Sébastien Inizan
- Sound mixer: Stéphane Bucher
- Script Supervisor: Claire Dumaze
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Frédéric Dubois
- Costume Design: Pamela Lee Incardona
- Camera Operator: Carl Bartels
- Art Direction: Nanci Roberts
- Second Second Assistant Director: Richard Robinson
- Pilot: Alan D. Purwin
- Special Effects Coordinator: Donn Markel
- Art Direction: Atilla Yilmaz
- Costume Supervisor: Rachel Benhabib
- Costume Supervisor: Marylin Fitoussi
- Costume Supervisor: Dana Loats
- Line Producer: Michael Mandaville
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Rodolphe Chabrier
- Line Producer: Diloy Gülün
- Production Manager: Suat Saglam
- Casting: Anne Barbier
- Foley: Philippe Penot
- Property Master: Tristan Girault
- Sound Editor: Guillaume Battistelli
- Aerial Director of Photography: Steven Desbrow
- Key Makeup Artist: Aya Yabuuchi
- Steadicam Operator: Lorenzo Donati
- Still Photographer: Magali Bragard
- Sound Recordist: Loïc Gourbe
- Sound Editor: Capucine Courau
- Art Direction: Christophe Couzon
- Assistant Editor: Thibaut Blanchet
- Boom Operator: Utku Insel
- Key Hair Stylist: Barbara Dally
- Construction Coordinator: Martinus Van Lunen
- Dialogue Editor: Anne Gibourg
- Still Photographer: Sam Urdank
- Assistant Editor: Sophie Chatin
- Gaffer: Mohan Valmy
- Gaffer: Brett Laumann
- Stunts: Frédéric Dessains
- Post Production Supervisor: Frederic Jupin
- Key Hair Stylist: Véronique Boitout
- Key Grip: John T. Martin
- Armorer: Christophe Maratier
- Gaffer: Ümit Barlas
- Still Photographer: Shanna Besson
- Set Costumer: Céline Collobert
- Key Hair Stylist: Steven R. Soussanna
- First Assistant Director: Ludovic Bernard
- First Assistant Director: Shadie Elnashai
- Set Costumer: Vicente Parada
- Boom Operator: Dennis Fuller
- Pilot: Luc Poullain
- Assistant Script: Elise Romestant
- First Assistant Director: Melisa Kurtay
- First Assistant Director: William Pruss
- Stunts: Brayane Rafiq
- Stunts: Frédéric Alhinho
- Stunts: Servet Demirbag
- Stunts: Jean-Benoit Guillon
- Key Grip: Adnan Aydın
- Property Master: Elif Öner
- Set Decoration: Agnes Demaegot
- Art Department Coordinator: Eda Dalcam
- Key Grip: Pierre Garnier
- Rigging Grip: Jason Selsor
- Set Costumer: Filiz Dana
- Set Costumer: Laurence Nicolas
- Set Costumer: Neil Tansey
- Set Costumer: Eylem Yildirim
- Assistant Editor: Karine Prido
- Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Andrii Trifonov
- First Assistant Director: Cheyenne Corre
- Production Manager: Matthias Castegnaro
- Unit Production Manager: Gregory Barrau
- Post-Production Manager: Matthieu Bled
- Production Manager: Nicolas Bonavita
- Unit Manager: David Deshayes
- Location Assistant: Burak Oskay
- Location Manager: Ibrahim Öter
- Casting: Ozge Cagaloglu
- Third Assistant Director: Murad Erdem
- Assistant Director: Sandie Louit
- Assistant Unit Manager: Pitch Mercadal
- Assistant Unit Manager: Pierre Marie Paubel
- Second Second Assistant Director: Sybil Rerat
- Second Assistant Director: Selda Yildirim
- Assistant Script: Delphine Duche
- Location Manager: Lyal Holmberg
Movie Reviews:
- GeekMasher: Taken 2 was… Not as good as the first one. Yes, I am sad to say it is not as good but on the other hand the story is still sound and the action is better and faster then before. Liam Neeson plays his role excellently while some on the other cast members didn’t preform as well. All in all a good movie but there are some little problems, but worth seeing any way.
- Per Gunnar Jonsson: I enjoyed this movie as a no-brainer action/thriller flick. Sure, it has a bunch of illogical and idiotic elements in but I have seen a lot worse. The movie certainly do not deserve the ridiculously low ratings that some people have given it.
It is perhaps not as good as the first movie, mostly due to the silly bits and pieces, but as a plain vanilla action/thriller it is certainly passable. I generally do like Liam Neeson. I did like him in the first Taken movie and I do like him in this one. The other actors with the possible exception of his wife and daughter are mostly there to fill up the scenes.
After a semi-dull beginning which is pretty much just setting up a reason for them all being in Istanbul, Bryan and his wife is, surprise, surprise, taken and that is pretty much when the action starts and from there on it is pretty much action all the way.
As have been mentioned, there are a lot of stupid things happening in the movie. Dropping grenades in the middle of Istanbul seemingly without anyone really reacting for instance. Bryan’s daughter have failed to take a drivers licence in the states several times but still, when thrown into a car with a manual gear stick, she handles the car like a stunt driver. Then we have a violin player that sits in the same spot all the time? Not to mention crashing into the embassy while being fired upon by the embassy marine guards and then they can just sit there in the wrecked car, in front of the embassy, while Bryan calls for help from some guy playing golf in the states.
It is clear that the Luc Besson didn’t really put realism very high on his agenda for this movie. But then this wouldn’t be the first time for him. Overlook the silliness and you have a decent enough action/thriller flick. At least I enjoyed it and I am normally not too forgiving when it comes to stupid and unrealistic stuff in movies.
- Gimly: The _Die Hard 3_ of the _Taken_ franchise, except like… Nowhere near as good. Serviceable, but a step down from the first film, and even that one was pretty overrated.
_Final rating:★★½ – Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._