Taken (2008)

Luc Besson helped write this tight thriller, and direction duties went to relative newcomer Pierre Morel, who helmed the exciting French action movie "District B13". If you're looking for a wild ride, go see that. But in the meantime, you should check out Taken in the theater. It's perfectly paced, nicely set up, well acted, and keeps your heart in a state of perpetual attack. Very satisfying to say the least.

Rating: B+

Taken 2 (2012)

I went into this expecting something terrible (what does that say about me, that I chose to watch it anyway), so I was pleased that it ended up being ok. They actually set up a slightly plausible story of why they were being re-taken. However, after the bodies starting piling up, I’m sure they were rethinking their logic of abducting his family in order to get justice for all the people he killed in the first film.

Will there be a sequel to make him pay for everybody who died in this round? They mentioned two other sons, but didn’t reveal whether he disposed of them, as well as every other relative of someone he killed. The ending as a whole was unsatisfying. Certainly not on par with the fresh and fun action flick the original was.

Rating: C