Impossible is equally possible for Neeson in Taken 2

Manila, Philippines -  2008’s hit action-thriller Taken took Liam Neeson’s career in a new milieu as a relatable action hero. The role of Bryan Mills, the embittered former CIA man forcing his way into a dark sex cartel to save his kidnapped daughter, became iconic, resonating with audiences all over the world.

Back for more carnage, Neeson reprises the role of Mills in Taken 2 shot in Istanbul which also stars Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. Taken 2 reunites Neeson with his co-stars Janssen and Grace, who play Mills’ estranged wife and only daughter. “Bryan’s a total superhero,” says Janssen, weighing in on what made audiences connect with the first film. “Taken really came at a time when people needed that in their lives, because it’s about family and protecting your family. He’s a very American hero.”

In the latest action-packed reel, Mills is being followed by the Albanian goons determined to exact revenge on him and his family. In the lead is Murad (Rade Sherbedgia) who is the father of the kidnapper that Mills killed in the first movie. With Mills and his wife taken, Kim (Grace) is left to save her parents.

Without giving away too much of the movie, Neeson teases, “I’m able to, in a very covert way, instruct her to find out where I am being held because a sack’s been put over my head and I’m in the middle of a dungeon. It’s highly impossible yet equally possible,” says Neeson from an interview with Empire magazine.

Taken 2 opens nationwide on Oct. 4 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.