A Film Analysis on Taken 2 - Essay Example

A Film Analysis on Taken 2 Watching a movie in a cinema or film theater creates a more engaging experience than viewing a film on television or over the computer. The effects from visuals to sounds are different in a movie theater than anywhere else. The cinema has a darkened hall with enough ventilation and superb speakers for sound effects. Some movies may even have real-time special effects from sounds to visuals and even stimuli that can be perceived by the sense of touch and feeling. If a movie is watched at home, it seems to be less engaging as it does not have enough equipment to simulate the same experience when watching the film in a theater. Of course the room can be darkened and a newly-released home theater system can be used but the ambiance and atmosphere seem to be different. Large audience size is impossible if watching a movie is done at home and the same element can be found in a movie theater that makes the overall atmosphere of a film to be engaging. For the paper, a film analysis is done to show how a movie can affect a person and his views and beliefs about the content of the film. In particular, the review would be based on the experience of the reviewer which will be addressed here as “I.” In the context of the movie review, I will share all about the general atmosphere before, during and after watching the movie in a cinema. Various guidelines were set to ensure the quality of the film analysis. I will give some parts in the review regarding the social interactions that occurred in the cinema while I was there watching the movie. Positive response may be seen in the form of excitement from the audience and through their gestures. In addition, it can help in the development of film as an art since the audience responds to the stimuli from the movie. We are able to connect those scenes and stories to real world experiences. Some questions prior to the film itself regarding social interaction may involve the general mood of the audience before the movie starts. The reviewer may also mention if he had seen some familiar faces like friends and former classmates watching at the same cinema and describe how he respond to the scenario. He may also mention if viewed the film alone or with friends or with special someone. The timing may also be considered when the movie was watched as it might affect how the reviewer appreciated the movie. In particular, it may be mentioned if he had watched it during the opening night as it might have a significant impact to the general atmosphere of the theater that might also affect the understanding of the viewers toward the movie. The general mood of the audience must also be put into consideration as it might reflect how the crowd reacted to the film. It may also include the general comfortable feeling of the reviewer while watching the show and reveal if he fitted to the audience. Another consideration revolves around suspended disbelief which affects the reactions of the audience directly as the attention is held by it. In particular, I am one of the viewers who become deeply engaged when watching the movie and forget about the “fictional” element of it as I think it is already part of the reality. For example, certain scenes have background music and the audience might think of those as scenarios that may happen in real life with background music too. Afterwards, a technical analysis must be done to see whether the criteria are satisfied by the said movie. Literary aspect, dramatic aspect, cinematic aspect and language work must be considered in the technical review of the film. The movie featured in the review is entitled Taken 2 which is a sequel to the original movie Taken. Taken 2 premiered in movie theaters in October 2012 that followed its first installment that was released in 2008. It was an action film that starred prominent celebrities like Liam Neeson, Famke Jannsen and Maggie Grace. Although the reception of the movie had mixed reactions from the viewers, the sequel became successful both in America and in other nations. Taken 2 opened after the last scene of its predecessor which was captured in Paris. The men killed by the protagonist Bryan Mills played by Liam Neeson had their funeral in Albania as their bodies were brought there by their relatives. In the funeral, the employer (father and leader of the sex traffickers) of the killed men announced that they will haunt Mills to take their revenge for their relatives who were killed by him. Back at the place of Mills, the protagonist learned that Lenore, his former wife, was having a problem with her husband and Kim was not at home. When the husband of Lenore cancelled the planned trip to China, Bryan invited Lenore and Kim to come with him to Istanbul where he was assigned for his work. He thought that the two would not accept his invitation until he found out that they followed him to Istanbul. After having a lunch, Kim stayed in the hotel as she tried to repair the relationship between her mother and father. While her parents went out, the leader of the villains and his men went after them and Lenore was captured. Consequently, Mills surrendered and both of them were kidnapped. With the experience he had as a former spy, he was able to contact Kim and instructed her to bring weapons to him. In addition, Mills was able to pinpoint his location to his daughter with his memory. The operation was successful as Kim was able to follow the instructions of his father and Bryan Mills was able to escape and helped Kim out. The father and daughter drove around to find Lenore and they were chased by villains until they reached the US Embassy. Then, Bryan contacted his former colleague in CIA to call off the people guarding the checkpoint. Afterwards, Bryan went to rescue Lenore from the hands of the villains as he recalled the paths taken towards the hide-out. He rescued her and Bryan confronted Murad (the head of the villains). He planned not to kill him but Murad attempted to attack Bryan after a negotiation. The movie ended when the family celebrated the achievement of Kim when she passed the driving test. Bryan was surprised when the boyfriend of Kim named Jamie joined them in their mini celebration (Megaton). The movie was really good overall because I really enjoyed the action scenes. In addition, I had watched the movie on a weekend and the cinema was filled with movie-goers. I anticipated that the movie would be really good and I was not disappointed with the movie as I enjoyed it together with my friends. I was comfortable watching the movie as I fit in the crowd together with my five friends who watched the movie with me. One of my friends was even so talkative that I had a little hard time to deal with him but it had added to the overall impact of the movie. I also observed my friends and other viewers as they also reacted to the movie with various emotions depending upon the scenarios. The social interaction was great regarding the movie and at the same time, the film had influenced its audience with its music and effects that matched the events especially the action scenes that one may assume that everything happens in real time. It was really captivating. The director was able to create the effect of suspended disbelief as he had allowed the characters to act naturally despite of the scenes had provided us with the information to reduce the mystery. The action scenes and the music had made the film look real and many were deeply engaged. When it comes to technicalities, it fell short from the first installment as it needed the story of the first movie for the audience to understand the plot of the story. When it comes to dramatic aspects, the actors had played their roles realistically and had made the whole movie looked like a real sequence of events. The language work was simple and the cinematic aspects were really great as the action scenes were really captivating to the audience. The movie had a narrator who talked about how gangs and the black market were still prevalent despite of the efforts to extinguish them. In addition, stereotyping may be seen as Albanians were part of the antagonists in the story. The story had both experiences shared as public and private as the family of the protagonist may involve the private side of life and the public one would be the scenarios involving the CIA and US Embassy. By the way, the story was part of a series as it was the sequel of the first movie Taken. The body language and symbols would involve gangs, guns and clash between two forces: the protagonist family of the ex-CIA agent and the antagonists in the form of armed gang men. The movie had exaggerated the performance of the former CIA agent as he was able to track the path going to the hideout of the enemies although he was blindfolded. Overall, the reviewer enjoyed the movie especially the action parts although some issues like stereotypes when it comes to Albanians might have turned off and have offended some people in the process. Work Cited Megaton, Olivier, dir. Taken 2. 20th Century Fox, 2012. Film. Read More