Director: Oliver Megaton

Writer: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen (Screenplay)

Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Rade Serbedzija

 

Story: After the events in the first Taken Murad Krasniqi (Serbedzija) wants revenge for all the death in his family. He wants to take out Bryan Mills (Neeson) and his family Kim(Grace) Lenore (Janssen). Can Bryan save his family before it is too late and stop this man from coming back after his family.

 

Verdict

 

Action: Solid action, car chases, hand to hand combat and plenty of guns. (9/10)

 

Thriller: Still tries to play the edge of your seat stuff but not to the same level as the first one. (7/10)

 

Settings: Set in Istanbul, which gives it a much tighter feel when all the action takes place. (8/10)

 

Suggestion: It is a good action thriller but don’t think it will be remembered as much as the original easy to watch though  (7/10)

 

Best Part: Casual throwing grenades around the city made me laugh

 

Worst Part: not the most original idea behind the story

Star Performance Liam Neeson

 

Favourite Character Bryan Mills

 

Similar Too: Taken

 

Overall: If you were a fan of the first one you should watch this if you haven’t seen the original then a lot of this won’t make as much sense so overall it is a good follow up but as a stand out fill just feels a bit rushed.

 

Rating 70%

 

Director: Patrick Lussier

Writer: Todd Farmer, Zane Smith (Screenplay)

John Beaird (1981 Screenplay)

Stephen A. Miller (1981 Story)

 

Starring: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Betsy Rue, Edi Gathegi, Tom Atkins, Kevin Tighe.

Story: When Tom (Ackles From TVs Supernatural) returns to his home town tens years after a Valentine’s day massacre which claimed the lives of 22 people he finds himself in role of suspect. When people around town start to get killed by someone in a miners outfit similar to the original murderer tensions rise secrets revealed and a guessing game on who is now committing the crimes starts.

Verdict

Horror: When you see the term horror remake you usually start to think the worse (see Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13^th). This one comes off very well as the slasher horror genre had been struggling with the new found footage generation or torture porn fans take over the market. For a classic who is in the mask film this is a good watch for all horror fans. (8/10)

Special Effects: Some very good special effects using the 3D technology. Some of the kills are nicely done using some very good effects most notable one victim eats a shovel. (9/10)

Costume: An imposing villain wearing a miner’s outfit intimidating most of his victims (8/10)

Settings: Set in a small mining town adds a nice touch to a real story potential having come from it (8/10)

Suggestion: I would suggest this to all horror fans but it may not be the best for non-horror fans. (7/10)

Best Part: The opening killing spree is very good along with the reveal on who the miner is

Worst Part: Lack of development of characters who seem to get five minutes and killed off

Star Performance: Kerr Smith

Favourite Character: Tom

Least Favourite Character: Megan

Trivia: The first R-rated film projected in Real D technology

Similar Too: Halloween, Friday 13^th

Overall: When it comes to good slashers this is one of them well worth a watch. It is good to see one of the Supernatural boys stepping out the show and making a role where he doesn’t know all about what going on. Some nice kills, good younger cast who make the situation believable.

Rating 78%