This is not a political rant. I said no politics for a while and I meant it. However it can't be denied that there is a striking correlation between Barack Obama and "Taken 2". So, exactly how can you compare the President of the United States to a ham-handed stinker of a sequel? Easy, America loves a second act.
In 2008 Liam Neeson appeared in a throw-away action thriller called Taken. For those of you who spend all of your time reading Proust, the story involves a family-loving, former CIA tough guy who rescues his daughter from white slavers. As action flicks go, it's pretty good. The hero never doubts for a minute that he will succeed and there is the appropriate amount of guy stuff i.e. torture, mayhem and the discharging of more rounds than at Gettysburg. The movie was well worth the price of the popcorn.
Do we need another one? Absolutely not. Is there the slightest chance that "Taken 2" will live up to our modest expectations? No. Will we go see it? Without a doubt. Why?
With films like "The Master", "The Intouchables" and of course "Frankenweenie" available, why would anyone fork over $12.50 to see a movie that's sure to disappoint? Because we want to relive the thrill of the first encounter. We're hoping for a second helping of adrenalin as Liam Neeson rages across Europe in the single-minded pursuit of the fiends who took his daughter. This is the same sort of "hope over experience" that lead us to sit through "Rocky 2 thru 5" (Plus "Rocky Balboa", a sad attempt to resuscitate both Balboa and Stallone. Both resulted in TKO's. ) We've witnessed Rambo 1-4, Terminator 1-4 (with a fifth supposedly on the way). Hell, even the parody got a sequel (see, Hot Shots, Part Deux) It's not that we are looking for a continuation of the story like The Godfather or even Raiders of the Lost Ark. We just liked the experience of the first film and want more of the same.
Which brings us to Barack Hussein Obama.
By any measure, Barack Obama should be scouring the real estate section of the Chicago Tribune for a new home in Hyde Park and calling the University of Chicago about teaching vacancies. Unemployment is still high, Iran is still a threat and he just finished second in a debate to a guy with the warmth of a bag of finishing nails. In a rational universe, the Obamas should be having the White House towels re-monogrammed with an "R". That, however, is not the current situation. Why? Because we want the sequel. We want to recapture that magic night in Chicago in Nov 2008 when a new face, a black face, told us that anything was possible.
The President has a winning personality and, has lived the Horatio Alger, rags to riches story. We root for guys like this and want to watch them overcome obstacles on the road to success. Obama is the guy who, having never flown a plane, is forced to take the controls and land the aircraft safely. He's the guy who grabs the machine gun when the fighting is the heaviest and leads his squad up the hill. We love this guy because he is one of us.
Romney is the pretty-boy rich kid who mocks our hero. He has never had to work at the mall or give out rented bowling shoes at the local lanes. From the moment he appears in the story we root for his failure. We can't wait for the skinny poor kid to learn karate or win the track meet and kick his ass. Nobody pulls for the rich guy and nobody is pulling for Romney. People may vote for him but no one will applaud his success.
So while the 20plex is filling up with people cheering for Liam Neeson to decimate the entire Muslim population of Istanbul, let's try to remember why we can't get enough of this junk. Rooting for the Good Guy is in our DNA.
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