It’s a bit strange to think that Taken 2 pays tribute to a movie that is only a year old. It’s even weirder considering the original Taken actually came out three years before Drive, but hey Drive is a great movie so I can’t blame Olivier Megaton for throwing it in. What’s really weird is the character that acts as the stand in for “the driver” is Kim Mills (Maggie Grace), AKA the damsel in distress from the first film.
Without a doubt one of the most memorable things about Drive was its unique soundtrack. Naturally when Kim Millis just happened to be listening to A Real Hero on her headphones, early in the movie, my reaction was, “Hey, that’s the song from Drive. I wonder if they did that on purpose.”
I got my answer later on as an iconic scene from Drive was recreated, complete with the song Tick of the Clock. Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) goes off to do something badass, leaving Kim in the car with a five minute window. She even sets her countdown near the wheel, just as Ryan Gosling did in Drive.
Kim then becomes her father’s getaway driver, part of her story arc about not having a driver’s license, and we are treated to some Bourne style car chase. Honestly seeing a reference to such a stylized and original action film in the clunky, substance lacking Taken 2 is a bit jarring. Still, I love Drive so much it was probably my favorite part of the movie.
