Andrew, maybe we can start agreeing on all sorts of stuff!  

Yeah, I went into Orphan thinking it was going to be abysmal.  I was very impressed though.

House of Wax was skewered by critics and fans alike, but I thought it was pretty cool and pretty well done, as well.  But, I may have a soft spot in my heart (or somewhere a little south of there actually) for any movie that has Elisha Cuthbert - smoking hot.

Based on Sniper's rehash, this Taken 2 thing sounds like a real piece of shite.  Love the dropping grenades on the roofs and then dropping a gun down the exact chimney where Liam is waiting...HaHa...sounds terrible.

So, why did someone say this was directed by that guy in the first place?

Yeah, House of Wax was what it was. Wasn't attempting to be Martyrs. It was enjoyable. Gotta agree on the Cuthbert analysis. Always a big fan of her contemporary in Rachael Leigh Cook, too.

Oh, I'm sure we'll get agreement on beautiful women until the cows come home!

Decided to go along to the cinema and watch this one last night and, yeah, not much to add. I really enjoyed the first movie but this one doesn’t really present a new angle to the franchise. In fact, it was a little bit of a letdown in all honesty.

Most the action felt lazy and unoriginal, the car chase scene involving the protags having to get past a speeding train just in time before the bad guys are hit for instance.

Another weakness was the fact that they never truly explored the new supposed direction of Mills (Neeson) being captured. His expected escape with the help of his daughter was all too easy and the bad guys just lacked any real threat in this one.

I think Neeson was okay, he wasn’t helped by a very basic script which was devoid of surprises.

No sooner has Liam Neeson got his loved ones back, they're already talking someone else getting "Taken" so he can go around shooting bad guys. And it's not about the story but money this time - who would have thought that?

http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/robert-mark-kamen-says-fox-wants-to-make-taken-3-for-the-money/

Who could be taken this time? His dog perhaps.

Quoted from Dreamscale Unknown was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.  He also directed House of Wax and Orphan - 2 flicks that I actually liked.

Hey Jeff,

You're right. My bad.
This director's last film was Columbiana.
Which I found to be an utterly boilerplate experience.

Caught this on BluRay over the weekend...
And wow, what a snoozefest.

I'm a little shocked Fox trusted this guy with the franchise.
He sorta muffed Transporter 3 for them a few years ago.

There's an alternate ending to Taken 2 that was intriguing.
In the original cut, Neeson rescues his wife as well.

BUT... He goes back to GUN DOWN all the baddies anyway!
You know, just to make sure there isn't a Taken 3.

Some studio exec eventually figured out that might jeopardize the hero status.

Shockingly boring and sleepy action scenes.
They all felt like they were playing out at 75% speed to me.
There's like ONE FIST FIGHT in the first FORTY MINTUES?!?
Seriously?

E.D.

For all the posts here, looks like only a couple of actual reviews.

I wasn't a big fan of the original, but it definitely wasn't bad.  I am not a fan of this either, but it is pretty bad...not horrible, but not at all good.

So slow for the opening 15 minutes.  Poor acting all around, IMO.  Didn't seem remotely believable.

A few decent chases and gun play.  Actually enjoyed the final confrontation with the little Turkish dude in the bath house - well choreographed and both Liam and he looked like they knew how to fight in close quarters, hand to hand.

I do enjoy Rade Serbedziga ever since I saw him in Eyes Wide Shut.  He's a good actor and he carries a solid screen presence.  Too bad he came off here as such a  nitwit.  But then again, all the baddies were idiots.

Very little story and plot here.  Very little going on, actually other than chases and fights.  Everything was way too easy for Liam and company and really came off quite cheesy, silly,  and stupid.

Final question - Maggie Grace is the daughter.  She's 30 years old in real life.  How old is she supposed to be in this movie?  I mean, an ongoing plot point was that she hadn't passed her driving test until the very end.  WTF?

Not good by any means, but we all know damn well we can do much worse.