Roger Ebert Was Enthusiastic About A Liam Neeson Sequel That Most Critics Hated

Critics liked Liam Neeson‘s “Taken” well enough. They hated “Taken 2.” Most of them did, anyway. Roger Ebert, on the other hand, absolutely loved it, and this wasn’t the first time the esteemed critic went to bat for a middling action thriller.

When Neeson read the script for his action hit “Taken,” he felt embarrassed. This was, after all, an unapologetically ridiculous, over-the-top actioner that probably seemed like the last thing the Oscar-nominated star of “Schindler’s List” should be doing. Eventually, however, the Irish star agreed, and when “Taken” arrived in 2008, it was indeed a ridiculous, over-the-top actioner. But it was also great in its own way, convincing everybody…