Liam Neeson returns as butt-kicking ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills in this hit action sequel.
Mills has already seen his share of kidnapping, having rescued daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from the clutches of Albanian human-traffickers two years earlier.
Life since has been peaceful and, after completing a bodyguard assignment in Istanbul, Bryan is pleased to be surprised by Kim and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), who have travelled to Turkey for a holiday. However, the bliss doesn't last long as, following a romance-rekindling lunch, Bryan and Lenore are ambushed and kidnapped.
Bryan manages to get a message to Kim back at the hotel and the brave teen snatches the opportunity to repay her father for his heroics two years prior. With Bryan's weaponry at her side, she sets about locating her parents before helping dad methodically dispose of the assailants.
Once thought of as an unlikely action hero, Neeson reprises the role that launched him into the genre and proves again he has the requisite gristle.
His first outing as Mills drew a pleasing $225million haul at the box office, so it was inevitable that prolific action writer Luc Besson would pen a follow-up. With double the budget, this mission loses some of its low-key charm, but its plot is just as far-fetched and fun as its predecessor.