Liam Neeson inflicts his particular set of skills on some heavies... in explosive new scenes from Taken 2

Liam Neeson showed that he was a man of action in surprise box office smash Taken.
And he's back flexing his muscles once more in the eagerly awaited sequel, and the 60-year-old actor is certainly not showing his age if these action packed pictures have anything to go by.
The sequel to the 2008 thriller, which showed a new side to the normally dramatic actor, sees retired CIA agent Bryan Mills forced to use his deadly skills once more to save a member of his family.
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Still got it: Liam Neeson shows off his action heroics in new pictures from the eagerly awaited sequel Taken 2

Running into trouble: It's not long before he's called back into action after his ex is kidnapped

Neeson was initially reluctant about signing up for the sequel until he was blown away by the script

In the original, he dusted off his formidable talents to rescue his daughter (Maggie Grace) from Albanian slave traders in France - but this time he has to rescue his kidnapped ex-wife in Istanbul, played by former Bond girl Famke Janssen.

 

The film begins with Mills leading a quiet life during a holiday break in the Turkish city, but it's not long before he is back in trouble again following a visit from his ex-wife Leonore and daughter Kim.

Calm before the storm: Neeson's former CIA agent character Bryan Mills is enjoying the quiet life in Istanbul with his ex wife Leonore, played by Famke Janssen, and daughter Kim, who is played by Lost actress Maggie Grace

It sets off a chain of events leading to Leonore's capture, and he is soon racing against time to save the day against the terrorist gang, led by 24 actor Rade Serbedzija.
The many action scenes see Neeson engage in brutal hand to hand combat and heart stopping car chases.

Driving action fans wild: The sequel promises more breakneck action and thrills

He told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year: 'The action is supposed to take place about a year or a year and a half after the first story.
'It’s a very clever sequel with the usual thrills and spills, but the ante is upped quite a bit in this one. I had to up my pushups and sit-ups.'
And despite the gruelling fitness regime, Neeson is keen to make another film.
He revealed: 'We joke about doing Taken 3, Taken 4, Taken 5, and so on. It’s funny to be doing this at 60. I just hope my knees hold up!'

A rare moment of quiet for Neeson's character Bryan Mills

While he is happy to reprise his action hero role, he did admit that he was initially hesitant about signing up for Taken 2.
He told Empire magazine  in July: 'The first one for me was just a one-off. It was a huge hit, but I thought "That’s it." Then Luc Besson came back and said, "We want to do a sequel."  I said, "Come on, how can you possibly do a sequel? What, she gets taken again? It’s crazy!’”
However, after reading the script he couldn't wait to be an action man again.