‘Taken 2’, in cinemas on October 5, picks up two years after the events of ‘Taken’. Bryan’s relationship with his daughter Kim has grown stronger, and he hopes to reunite with ex-wife Lenore. “Even before he encounters the new threat to his family, Bryan is on a mission to get closer to Kim and Lenore,” says director Olivier Megaton.

Kim was a passive victim in the first film, but in ‘Taken 2’ it’s clear the interim two years have changed her. Under the tutelage of her father, she’s developed some of his instincts and is much better equipped to cope with the crisis that develops during their family reunion in Istanbul. “She’s her father’s daughter, and she’s finding out what she’s capable of,” says Maggie Grace. “In the first film, Kim was young and naive and didn’t know much about the real world,” adds Megaton. “But something incredible happened to her, and she reconstructed herself. She has matured. She doesn’t want to be passive again.”

Lenore, too, is changing. After Kim’s kidnapping and Lenore’s separation from her new husband, it seems there may be a chance for Bryan and Lenore to reconcile. “Their connection has suddenly become very strong because Lenore has been going through a hard time,” explains Liam Neeson. “Bryan is a shoulder for her to lean on, and the relationship grows from there.”

Lenore, like her daughter, has matured since the events of the first film. “Lenore wasn’t very likable in ‘Taken’,” Megaton points out. “She was always well-dressed, always perfect, but we tried to give her a bit more humanity in this one.”

Famke Janssen agrees that Lenore didn’t come off especially well in the first film. “I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said, ‘You were such a bitch in ‘Taken’!’ But in this movie, because Lenore is herself in danger, you care for her. So it made sense for me to soften her up a little and make her more likable.”

With Neeson, Janssen and Grace returning for ‘Taken 2’, there remained the challenge of casting the film’s new villain, Murad. Acclaimed character actor Rade Sherbedgia takes on the role, which Megaton promises is “a far cry from your typical bad guy. Murad is pursuing Bryan for a big and very fair reason, which is that he wants his justice for his son, who died at Bryan’s hand.”

Unlike most movie villains, Murad desires neither power nor money, and he possesses no special training. “Murad is not a criminal by profession,” says Sherbedgia. “He is not a warrior. But he has made it his mission to extract justice from Bryan.”

Megaton looked at a number of actors for the role, and selected Sherbedgia after the actor sent some trial footage he shot himself. “While watching Rade’s footage, I was suddenly dropped into the reality of Murad’s situation,” the director enthuses. “And Rade adds so much to the movie, because he’s a father, too. Liam is a father protecting his daughter and Rade is a father avenging his son.”

Bryan’s encounters with Murad are memorable, and Neeson is particularly fond of his character’s final battle with the Balkan baddie. “Bryan, at this stage of his journey, is genuinely sick of killing,” says Neeson. “He has physically become a machine when he gets into the mindset of taking out these bad guys. I think his big worry is that the machine may take over from the human being. For the sake of his daughter, his ex-wife and his own soul, he wants to stop.”

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