After the success of its predecessor, why did ‘Taken II’ fall short of audience expectations with a simplistic plot and lack of twists?

After the success of Taken 1, Taken II failed to live up to expectations due to its simplistic plot and lack of development. There are fewer action scenes with the main character, and it struggles to recreate the tension and shock of its predecessor.

 

To understand Taken II, you’ll need to have some knowledge of its predecessor, Taken 1. If you don’t understand the first movie, you may feel unclear about the main character’s motivations and emotions. Let’s take a quick look at the plot of the first movie. Brian Mills, a former special agent, has a daughter, Kim, with his divorced ex-wife. He cares too much about his daughter and loves her too much to let her travel to Paris. However, Kim is kidnapped by human traffickers shortly after arriving in Paris, and after learning about it during a phone call, Brian flies to Paris to rescue his daughter, and single-handedly goes into the bad guys’ lair to rescue her.
The structure of Taken 1 is quite satisfactory, and the fact that the whole story starts with a father who is a former special agent trying to rescue his daughter who has been kidnapped by human traffickers is something that should already pique the interest of the audience and viewers. While the plot of this typical action thriller is compelling enough on its own, what makes it even more interesting is the depth of Brian’s character and the extreme determination he shows to rescue his daughter. Add to that the non-stop action and quick scene changes that keep the audience on the edge of their seats from the very beginning of the movie, when his daughter is kidnapped, to the very end, when she is finally rescued, and I think it’s a big part of why the movie has gotten such great reviews. I think Liam Neeson’s impeccable action performance as Brian Mills, who was 56 years old at the time, also contributed to the movie’s flow and success. More than just an action star, Liam Neeson’s depth of characterization adds humanity to a character that could have easily been two-dimensional.

 

 

The previous movie seemed to be on par with any other popular action movie in terms of its plot, lead performances, and scene composition. The film’s shorter running time of 93 minutes compared to other action movies helped to set up many of the film’s locations, such as an elevated road in front of the Paris airport crowded with cars, a midnight intersection where prostitutes are soliciting, a construction site where kidnapped women are being drugged and sold for sex, and so on, to keep the tension high until the end credits roll. The composition of these scenes further increased the audience’s immersion, which in turn led to the audience’s favorable reception. These scenes also served to reinforce the mood of the film, rather than just being backgrounds. The contrast between the dreary atmosphere of the construction site and the glamorous exterior of Paris, and Brian’s struggle within it, is a visual shock to the viewer and heightens the urgency of the story. Although I watched it on my TV at home, I truly felt like I was in the movie for all 93 minutes and wondered why I hadn’t seen this masterpiece in theaters before I enlisted in the Army in May 2008.
This should give you an idea of how much anticipation I had for Taken II. The movie opens with the head of the human trafficker gang from the first movie vowing to avenge the deaths of many of his men who were killed by Brian in the first movie. This scene echoes the climax of the first movie, and suggests that Brian has put himself in more danger than just victory. After finishing his work, Brian invites his ex-wife and daughter, Kim, to visit him in Istanbul, Turkey, but it’s not long before he realizes that the bad guys are chasing him and his family through the city. He and his ex-wife are kidnapped by the bad guys, and he manages to escape with the help of his incredible memory, his base, and his daughter. Along the way, the complexity and exotic atmosphere of Istanbul adds to the suspense, but at the same time, the city is not fully utilized as a backdrop for the movie.

 

 

After watching the movie, my first thought was, “Isn’t the central theme too simplistic?” The villain’s goal is to kidnap and kill Brian, who is traveling to Turkey on a business trip, and I was worried that the flow of the story would be too simple from the beginning. However, I’ll admit that my doubts are highly subjective, as many movies have chosen the scenario of defeating the villain and wrapping up with a happy ending. However, beyond subjective opinions, I couldn’t help but feel that the simplistic plot of the movie as a whole leaned on the glory of its predecessor without offering anything new to the audience.
However, there was something about the overall flow of the story that felt hollow and disjointed. Unlike the first movie, Brian’s daughter is the clue to solving the problem in this movie, not him. Her role in the film is significant, with scenes of her mapping out the location herself, detonating a grenade so that Brian can calculate the location, and driving an unlicensed car through the narrow streets of Istanbul’s residential neighborhoods. I think Maggie Grace, who plays Kim, does a great job with the role. What I did notice, however, was the fictionalization of the movie. Even if the plot of a movie is based on fiction, I think there should be a minimum level of plausibility in order to connect with the audience and gain their empathy. Taken II’s lack of plausibility detracted from my immersion in the movie and prevented me from sustaining the suspense. The lack of predictability is also evident in the scene where Brian is kidnapped and traveling, remembering the sounds outside the car over time. Although he is a special agent by profession, the scene where he is portrayed as an omniscient god who can distinguish every single sound was enough to make me cringe. This undermines the realism of the movie for the audience, and blurs the humanity of Brian’s character.
The highlight of the Taken series is undoubtedly Brian’s action sequences, which are the highlight of the movie. In the first installment, his action scenes were non-stop from the beginning of the movie. However, in the second installment, the focus was on his daughter rather than him, so despite being an action movie, it didn’t live up to the expectations of many audiences who were expecting such dynamic scenes. The most disappointing thing was the time setting. The first movie was set over a period of several days, with Brian’s rescue of his daughter taking place in various locations. This worked well for his dynamic action sequences, as well as for the shifts in perspective to different locations. This time, however, the movie is set in just one day, from the time his daughter and ex-wife are kidnapped to the end. I don’t know if it was simply a time-saving measure to capture the events in 24 hours, but I was expecting to see the story unfold in a variety of locations, and it felt very simplistic. For example, the various landmarks of Istanbul could have been featured in the background, which in itself would have added to the visual enjoyment of the audience. The intricate alleyways of Istanbul, the massive bazaars, and the Bosphorus Strait that runs through the city would have been a great backdrop for the action scenes.
Of course, it’s not all bad. The movie’s production values are certainly of a high standard, and there are still moments of suspense that make every second count. However, as someone who was looking forward to the shock and awe of the first movie, I was a bit disappointed that this one didn’t leave quite the same impact. Ultimately, though, I think the success of Taken II is that the powerful images of the first movie, and the memories of those images, are what kept audiences coming back for more. The lesson here is that the success of a sequel is not just about being an extension of its predecessor, but about how fresh it can be. This is an important lesson for all directors and producers preparing a sequel.