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Liam Neeson is back in the highly anticipated sequel to the sleeper hit Taken, in theaters October 5, and he reveals to ET that he was a bit surprised by the monumental success of the original film.

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"It had to be good and I had to be convinced that it was a story that would work, especially after the success of the first one," says Liam. "We were quite amazed when it became a big success."

Taken 2 finds retired CIA agent Bryan Mills in Istanbul on vacation with his wife and daughter (Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace). But when the Albanian kidnappers who first took his daughter – and paid the price dearly for it with a trail of bodies – track him down to get revenge, Mills will stop at nothing to save his kin. And yes, Mills uses his "particular set of skills" with no remorse…

"It's a chance to get back with these wonderful stunt guys again and do these fantastic fights and get to run quite a bit -- which is not as exciting -- but the fighting is, and that's always fun to do," says Liam.

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Taken 2 is directed by Olivier Megaton (Colombiana) and also stars perennial badass character actor Rade Serbedzija.