Roger Ebert's Surprise Love for Taken 2

Liam Neeson's career received an unexpected boost with the 2008 action film "Taken," which grossed $227 million against a $25 million budget. The movie established Neeson as a formidable action star, leading to a series of similar roles affectionately dubbed "Old Man Liam Neeson" films. While the original "Taken" earned a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, its sequel, "Taken 2" (2012), fared poorly with critics, receiving only 22% on the aggregate site.

However, film critic Roger Ebert stood apart from his peers, offering a more favorable review for "Taken 2" than for its predecessor. Ebert, who had previously praised other action thrillers against critical consensus, awarded "Taken 2" three out of four stars, higher than the two-and-a-half stars he gave to "Taken." He specifically noted the sequel's "slick, professional action" and a "uniformly capable and dead serious" cast, even acknowledging the film's more absurd plot points with a unique perspective.