Liam Neeson returns as CIA agent Brian Mills in Taken 2. He’s already confirmed to MTV that there won’t be a Taken 3, as he “couldn't envisage a storyline that would warrant a sequel” but was there really a need for Taken 2? The first movie, which he describes as “a wonderful little compact European thriller,” told the tale of Mills attempting to rescue his daughter, who had been kidnapped.

Obviously, repeating that storyline would have been a little tiresome, so the writer / producer Luc Besson turned the tale on its head and this time around, it’s Mills himself who gets kidnapped. According to Neeson’s interview with The Guardian, Besson “propositioned a couple of ideas and came back with this scenario and I remember thinking ‘yeah, this could maybe work. It’s rooted in something real, you know?” Describing the premise of the Taken movies, Neeson explains “it’s a guy trying to be a father, albeit an overprotective one… 100% of his energy goes into that; suddenly he’s taken into the field.”

Unfortunately for Neeson and Besson, movie critics have not agreed with the need for another Taken movie. Time Out’s Tom Huddleston said “A cynical, contemptuous film whose sole reason for existing appears to be to squeeze the pockets of anyone who enjoyed the first movie. Don't give it the satisfaction.” Empire magazine agreed, saying “The first one offered the novel sight of Oskar Schindler going Commando. Unfortunately, this half-hearted sequel is low on novelty and lower on fun.”