Taken 2 is a 2012 French action-thriller film directed by Olivier Megaton and starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Rade Šerbedžija, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, D.B.

[4] It follows retired CIA officer Bryan Mills as he ends up with his family in Istanbul, where he is kidnapped, along with his ex-wife, by the father of one of the men he killed while saving his daughter two years earlier.

Traveling to Paris with his men, he interrogates and tortures ex-French DGSE agent turned corrupt National Police officer Jean-Claude Pitrel, whose business card was found at the scene of Marko's death, but finds no information.

Meanwhile, Bryan has just finished his three-day security job for a wealthy Saudi Arabian sheik in Istanbul and is surprised by his ex-wife, Lenore, and daughter, Kim, turning up to visit him.

Opening her father's equipment case, Kim takes a grenade and detonates it on a nearby rooftop; the resulting sound allows Bryan to instruct her on triangulating his location.

A chase and shootout ensue, alerting Turkish police, and ends when Bryan manages to lure the SUV into the path of an oncoming train, taking it out.

[12] The film was released under the title of "Takip: İstanbul" in Turkey, "Busca Implacável 2" in Brazil, "Venganza: Conexión Estambul" in Spain, "Taken - La vendetta" in Italy and "Заложница 2" in Russia.

1 spot,[2] setting a new record for the highest-ever October opening in North America of a film rated PG-13,[15] and earned about $55 million in other markets.

[21] Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing, "Taken 2 is slick, professional action" and concluding, "The cast is uniformly capable and dead serious, and if you're buying what [co-writer and producer] Luc Besson is selling, he's not short-changing you.

"[22] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "At a beefy 6-foot-4, Liam Neeson certainly looks physically imposing, but it was the notion of casting someone who can actually act in an action hero role that was the counter-intuitive concept that made both films—Taken 2 is more a remake than a sequel—so successful.

"[23] Bernard Besserglik of The Hollywood Reporter reviewed the film after its screening at Deauville, concluding, "There's a touch of vigilante advocacy in the movie that will displease some, with Liam Neeson as a more gentlemanly version of the Charles Bronson of the Death Wish series, but clearly there's still a market for such fantasies.

Club gave the film a C grade, writing, "What begins as a family outing, with a hint of rekindled romance between the parents, devolves into kidnapping (the word 'taken' gets thrown about liberally), torture, high-speed chases, and other misadventures probably not smiled upon by the Turkish Board of Tourism.

"[29] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 2 stars out of 5, concluding, "In the first movie, from the tailend of the Bush era, Liam was not shy about using Jack Bauerish torture techniques, wiring up evil-doers to the mains and zapping them with righteous volts.

"[30] Joe Neumaier of the Daily News also gave the film 2 stars out of 5, writing, "Taken 2 has a plot that could have been written by a GPS program, and contains all the technical charm that conjures up.

Yet somehow, Liam Neeson growls through this just-acceptable action sequel with his dignity intact, his wallet bigger and his movie family oblivious to all that occurred in 2009's Taken.

"[32] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film 1 star out of 4, writing, "You can't blame Liam Neeson, or the Taken producers, for trying to catch lightning in a bottle again.

"[33] Audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScore gave the film a B+ grade on average, lower than the "A−" earned by its predecessor.