'Taken 2' trailer: 5 questions we have after watching

After headlining one of the biggest surprise hits of 2009, Liam Neeson's retired CIA agent Bryan Mills is back in "Taken 2." And now audiences are ready for him. What loose ends could possibly be left after Mills went on an ass-kicking windpipe-crushing bender to rescue his daughter (Maggie Grace) from the Albanian mafia? You'd be surprised.

Check out the trailer and the five questions it left us with:

1) Is Mills going to have to kill every bad guy in the world before he can ever feel safe?

Ah, the vicious cycle of revenge. Mills didn't really think he could exterminate that many mafia men and get away scot-free, did he? The sequel's arch-villain (Rade Šerbedžija who played a Russian terrorist on season six of "24") is pissed that he lost members of his family when Mills went on his rampage. See, even creepy European sleazebags who want to sell American girls into sex slavery have families who care about them too!

2) Can Mills' whole family make it out alive...again?

The trailer makes things look pretty bleak for both Mrs. Mills (Famke Janssen reprising her role in what seems to be a more active capacity) and trouble-prone Mills daughter Kim, who comes face to face with bad guy and his gun. Can Mills save both of his ladies' lives? Or will he pay the ultimate price for the sake of Neeson getting the opportunity to flex some dramatic muscles alongside the action? (Also, is it a coincidence Mills and Jack Bauer both have daughters named Kim? Good thing Janssen's character isn't named Teri...)

3) Will the action match the outlandishness of director Olivier Megaton's last movie, "Colombiana"?

Megaton is a trusted associate of producer and "Taken" mastermind Luc Besson, having also directed another big Besson franchise movie: "Transporter 3." Part of the appeal of Besson's action movies comes from their WTF!? action set-pieces and "Colombiana" had some doozies. Considering Megaton has a reported $80 million budget to play with on "Taken 2" (up from the original's paltry $26 million), he better outdo himself.

4) Is Istanbul as photogenic as Paris?

Uh, hell yes judging by the trailer, which spends nearly as much time showing us stunning shots of the city as it does showing Neeson cracking skulls.

5) Will we ever find out what happens with Kim's singing career?

Is she destined to become a Katy Perry-sized pop star, or just an "American Idol" wannabe? I mean, that's what we all want to know the most, right?

"Taken 2" opens Oct. 5

Geoff Berkshire
Contributor

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Geoff Berkshire lives in Los Angeles and writes about film and television. His work has appeared in Variety, the L.A. Times, and Premiere, among other publications. He is the former national entertainment editor and film critic for Metromix.com.