Hit action director Olivier Megaton heats up the action
arena with twice the thrill, action and carnage in the upcoming sequel “Taken
2” where the first movie cemented Liam Neeson as this era ’s most relatable
action hero being a family man keen on saving his daughter at all cost from
human trafficking.
Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
From the first movie where his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) had been abducted by
a cartel of human traffickers, “Taken 2” now follows Bryan Mills and his family
at Istanbul where the father of the cartel’s leader is out to avenge his son
killed by Mills during his daughter’s rescue. With Mills and his wife
abducted this time, Kim tries to save them at breakneck speed taking cues from
his father’s infallible timely instructions to track them down.
At the helm of the movie is director Olivier Megaton who was born Olivier
Fontana – Megaton being his artistic name that fitted right into the mix
of a new wave of action directors. Megaton started working on a number of
TV and short projects and eventually teamed up with Luc Besson where he wrote
and directed the film “Exit.” It was then followed by the crime thriller
“The Red Siren” and continued to work in the production of the game-adapted
movie “Hitman.” After the success of “Hitman,” he was then offered to
direct “Transporter 3,” which went on to become the highest-grossing film in
the “Transporter” series.
In the first movie Bryan’s a guy
with nothing to lose. He's divorced and he's lost filial relations, but all
that changed when his daughter was kidnapped. “Taken 2” takes it in a
whole new platform where Bryan’s got that relationship back and he's even
flirting with his ex-wife (played by Famke Janssen). Director Megaton notes
that “ It's almost cheesy, but that makes him all the more human at the
beginning of the movie because he's not thinking about his training; he's
thinking about his family. He's a little less strong, less robotic. He's
a little less lonely, and he has some hope in this one. This hope is initially
lost because when he tries to have lunch with his wife, he lets trouble in. He
would never have invited Kim and Lenora to Istanbul before because he was
working and he wasn't sure something could happen. It's sweet and at the same
time it gives the character some more humanity. I think this is the little
difference that makes the movie more interesting.”
Megaton confirms that “Taken 2” they detoured from the action sequel’s formula,
“Bryan Mills is exactly what people are looking for. You realize that you can
change the formula, you don't have to stick to it, but what's important is the
character. The fact that this guy has a daughter and she's becoming like
him was really the brand new thing in TAKEN 2. Suddenly Kim becomes something
different – a real action character. At the end of the first movie she's trying
to rebuild her life, she tries to fall in love—the classic American girl—but
she has been impacted by what's happened to her. These dark memories arrive
suddenly and it makes her different, allowing her to become an action hero like
her father. That was the real trick of TAKEN 2,” assures the director.
“Taken 2” in theaters nationwide on October 4 from 20th Century Fox
to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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