I would say that, as I do sometimes, you folks who read this at least semi-regularly know of my love for the movie Taken with Liam Neeson, but upon thinking that, I happened to realize something. You don't. I don't write many Popcorn On posts, which are my movie semi-reviews basically, but I've always intended to write one for Taken, but it's the oddest thing - Whenever I sit down to write one, I just end up watching the movie instead. Because it is that good. I do still intend to write a Popcorn On post for the movie, and I will likely accomplish it on some date, but that date is not tonight. Though I do reserve the right to completely restate anything and everything in this post in the eventual Popcorn On post for the movie when I do eventually get around to it. Because I suspect my ability to write rationally might be diminished, what with just being entranced with the movie and all.
With all that said, I'm sure anybody could guess my reaction upon seeing a trailer for Taken 2, having only heard vague rumors in the vein of "Boondock Saints is getting a sequel" (which happened, but.....well....) and "they're doing a live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop" (which hasn't happened and probably won't) which is to say that the movie seemed as if it was never going to happen. A Duke Nukem Forever-scenario, but for the movies, basically. My reaction was that of pure glee, something reaching unadulterated joy and beyond. I admit I may - read, it says may - have even squealed as a girl being given a pony for her birthday might have upon seeing what was undeniably the trailer for a movie that certainly looked enough like Taken that it had to be a sequel for it. What with the same main cast and everything being prominently featured throughout. (As a note: the above is the official trailer, not the commercial one, but it does as well) Seeing it officially branded at the end of the video is....a feeling unlike anything I have felt for a while, but a feeling that I do believe I will be getting used to with tomorrow's acquisition of LittleBigPlanet Vita, barring any shenanigans.
The interesting thing to note of the sequel, at least from the trailer bits, is that it goes a route that I honestly never would have expected, which is the exact logical route. Without spoiling the first movie (though the trailer does spoil a few bits) too much, you obviously get the gist of it - the daughter Neeson's character (Bryan Mills) is kidnapped and through the movie, he cuts through swaths of the gang at a time (with bullets) and Taken 2 acknowledges that and embraces it, using it as a logical basis for a sequel. What one can infer from the trailer is that the remnants of the gang come together stronger, united with a single purpose - to get the ultimate revenge on Bryan Mills, by going after his family for retaliation of their own. It's not innovative or fancy, nor does it need to be, and it does a damn good job of setting up another movie to bear the name. It's simple, it's clean, and it makes sense, which likely goes against all action movie logic.
At its core, Taken was very obviously an Action movie, but it was a smart one, or at least convinced me enough to think of it as such after repeated watchings. Which could very well be a reason that I haven't bothered to look for a little bit of masking tape to peel away, if you will, to see the movie for its core mechanics. But honestly, that doesn't matter because Action movies are -never- known for their plots and even if the one from Taken was only marginally smarter than most other Action fare and not genuinely smart on its own merits, then I don't really care a whit. What is important for me, in terms of Action movies, is whether or not its dumb enough to absolutely break my immersion whilst watching it, and the movie does not do that, which makes it a good action movie. The fact that Liam Neeson stars in it makes it truly great, and I'm sure that that is no unfamiliar sentiment.
What I'm going about saying here, in essence, is that if you have not, for some reason, seen Taken, then what the hell, go watch it. I did a search on Netflix a moment ago and it appears that it's no longer on there for streaming because Netflix is only a video streaming service so why would it have movies to stream, but if you do not mind clinging to the tangible, then you should have no issue finding it on DVD or Blu-Ray if it suits your fancy. And it -should- suit your fancy because it is honestly a fantastic movie, if the verve it inspires in me was not an indicator otherwise. While I am not generally a theater person, I might just have to assemble a group on October Fifth to go forth and watch this, because I am not quite sure that I'll be able to wait for DVD. I am that excited.
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