For Taken 2, directing duties shift from Pierre Morel to Olivier Megaton. It's an uneven transition which costs this sequel greatly. Liam Neeson returns, yet he's only given one tremendous fight sequence. Everything else fails to make the grade.

Relatives of the men who died in Taken are out for revenge. Meanwhile, Bryan Mills (Neeson) goes on holiday to Istanbul accompanied by his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). He soon realises they are in mortal danger and takes drastic steps to keep his loved ones safe.

Fisticuffs fly and guns ignite, but we don't care as much this time. It's pretty obvious where Taken 2 wants to go. Surprisingly, Neeson becomes complacent in his performance. He seems all too aware of the screenplay's shortcomings. Writers Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Besson fumble with the material in order to make it stick. They only succeed in wearing out our patience.

My advice? Watch Taken again. It has better action in the long run. (Capsule review)

Released by 20th Century Fox and rated "PG-13" by MPAA.