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Taken 2 | 2012 | PG-13 | - 3.7.4
Liam Neeson returns as the former government security agent who rescued his daughter from a sex slave operation in 2009's "Taken." This time, in Istanbul, men seeking revenge for the people he killed are determined to kill him, as well as his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) and daughter (Maggie Grace). Also with Rade Serbedzija. Directed by Olivier Megaton. [1:32]
SEX/NUDITY 3 - A young man and a young woman kiss and caress each other while sitting on a sofa (we see the young man fumbling with buttons on the young woman's top; no nudity is visible) until they are interrupted by her father knocking at the door.
► A married woman and a man (her ex-husband) kiss. A young woman kisses a young man's cheek. A man and his ex-wife hug.
► A man makes reference a few times to a sex slave operation. Three men talk about one man's ex-wife still having "something" for him and then that the man still has "something" for his ex-wife. A woman tells her ex-husband about their daughter having a boyfriend. A woman tells her ex-husband that she and her current husband are separated. A man and his late teen daughter talk about her boyfriend and love. A woman tells her ex-husband that their daughter is "trying to play cupid." A young woman jokingly tells her father "Don't kill this one, I really like him" about her boyfriend.
► A young woman wears a bikini at a hotel pool (we see cleavage, bare abdomen, shoulders, arms, back and legs). A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage in a few scenes. A young woman wears a bikini top and shorts in a few scenes.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 7 - A man holds a knife to a woman's throat and cuts her (we see a bloody slash), then places a bag over her head and hangs her upside down (we see blood dripping from the bag) and we are told that it will take 30 minutes for her blood to flow to her head and presumably kill her.
► We see a flashback to three men being killed: one man is stabbed, one is shot and one is electrocuted with metal rods jammed in his legs (we see very quick glimpses of each of these acts and we see this a few times throughout the film). A man slams another man's head against a wall where it looks like there are coat pegs and kills him (we hear a crunch; we see no blood).
► A man tied into a chair is threatened by another man with a pair of scissors: he moves the scissors close to his face and nose, then slams them into his leg and the man screams (we do not see the scissors go into the man's leg). A woman tied into a chair is threatened by a man with a pair of scissors; the man traces down her chest with the scissors and cuts her sweater.
► A man shoots two men and holds a gun to the head of a third before shooting him in the stomach and then shooting two others. A man shoots three men (we see some blood spray) and then exchanges fire with several other men; one man falls over a railing and down to the ground below. A man is shot in the back and falls forward with blood on his back. A man is shot in the back twice and falls dead. Two men shoot two other men many times (we see a bit of blood splatter). Two men shoot automatic weapons at a wall where they think a man is standing on the other side; he then shoots both men through the hole they shot in the wall. We see a man dead on the floor with a bullet hole in his head and another man who finds him is struck on the back of the head (we then see him tied into a chair with a bloody face from a beating). Two men fight: they punch each other and they slam each other into walls and one is shot.
► Two men hold guns toward each other at close range: they both fire and miss and they fight with punches and kicks and they throw each other around; one man pulls a knife and the other flips him over and kills him (he gurgles blood from his mouth). A man uses a chain to strangle and then break another man's neck (we hear a crunch. A man is grabbed around the face and mouth and held until he is suffocated. A man is beaten with punches and kicks by three men; he is tied around the hands and a bag is placed over his head before he is taken away.
► A man steals a car and speeds through a crowded bazaar, a man on a scooter runs into a pile of boxes trying to avoid the car and the man in the car crashes through a food cart; the man in the car is shot at by people in other cars, he crashes into a car, and gets out and runs away. A young woman driving a car is chased by several other cars (some are police), she speeds through streets and crashes into other cars while her passenger shoots at the chase cars; one car ramps over another car and flips on its top, one car is dragged along side another car, one car pulls metal panels off a wall and drags them, one car nearly runs into a bus, one car speeds across a rail road track with a train speeding toward them and another car is caught by the train and pushed along the tracks until the car explodes (presumably the occupants died).
► A man is chased by other men on foot: he fights several of the men with punches and kicks, he runs and is nearly struck by a car until a man holds him at gunpoint; the two men fight and a third man hits the first man with a metal baton (we hear grunts and groans) and they all fight with batons. A young woman is chased by several men, she runs across rooftops and she jumps across rooftops, one man is clothes-lined by a wire when he jumps and he falls to the street below (we see blood on his face) and another man points a gun at her and tells her to get to her knees which she does (she is not harmed). A car crashes through the gate of an embassy and many armed men approach the car (no one is harmed). A man hits another man in the face while threatening to kill him.
► A man is shown tied by the hands to a metal bar where he is questioned and threatened by another man. A woman is held at gunpoint and her hair is pulled. A man with a gun pokes another man in the chest with it in a threatening manner. A woman has a bag placed over her head and she is taken away (we hear her yelling). A woman stumbles as she is held and led away by two men.
► A young woman throws several grenades and they explode; one blows up a water tank and the water spills on men sitting at tables on street level, and one blows a car up in a parking lot.
► A man tells another man that he is going to take the man's daughter and sell her and that she will be abused by so many men that she will be a "piece of meat." A man tells a woman that he is going to send her home "piece by piece." A man talks about another man killing several men, including his son, and he says, "You killed them all" and "His heart burst." A man tells his daughter that he and her mother are going to be taken and they will also come for her (she is frightened). We hear a woman scream and then hear a thud as if she has been struck to keep her quiet.
► A man talks about avenging the death of several other men and makes reference to spilling the blood of the man responsible. A young woman jokingly tells her father "Don't kill this one, I really like him" about her boyfriend.
► We see several coffins in graves during a graveside service where people are gathered and mourning. A man packs a gun and a knife into a case filled with other weapons including explosives, another gun and ammunition. Coffins are off-loaded from a plane and taken to a gravesite in a truck.
► A young woman climbs out a window several floors up, creeps across a ledge, a bird flutters toward her, and she climbs into another window just before men with guns find her. A young woman climbs out of a taxi and runs with the driver yelling after her that she needs to pay. A young woman steals clothing from a locker and another woman yells at her.
► We hear a dog barking and then see it jump against a door trying to get to a man on the other side.
LANGUAGE 4 - 6 scatological terms, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (liar, cupid, dog), exclamations (shut up), 1 religious profanity, 5 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - Men are shown drinking beer and wine with a dinner. A man smokes a cigarette, and two other men smoke cigarettes.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Obsession, sex slavery, revenge, death of family members, normality, kidnapping, justice, peace, Istanbul, betrayal.
MESSAGE - An eye for an eye is a never-ending proposition.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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