I’m a girl who really loves action movies, so the past few days have been very exciting. The Internet gods have graced us with some awesome trailers for two of the most anticipated action films: Taken 2 and Skyfall. They may be completely different franchises but both have one thing in common – the amount of ass kicking. If these trailers are any indication, the body count in these movies will be incredibly high. And that my friends, is why action movies are so great. Be prepared for violence.

Taken 2

First up is Taken 2, the sequel to the surprise Liam Neeson hit. I have seen the movie Taken more times than I can count because it is constantly on television. It’s a great old school action movie with little plot, lots of ass kicking, and some great lines that you can quote for years to come (who doesn’t know Neeson’s monologue to the kidnapper by heart?). My hope is that the sequel can live up to the awesomeness of the original and the trailer makes some strides in convincing me. If you’ve seen the first film then you probably know the story, former spy Bryan Mills (Neeson) is forced to kill a whole bunch of people in order to save his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) from foreign kidnappers. The sequel picks up a few years later, with the family members of the people Mills blew away in the last movie coming back for revenge while the family is vacationing in Istanbul. Here’s the trailer so you can see for yourself:

The effects shots look great – lots of gunfire, explosions, and hand to hand combat to keep my eyes entertained. What I’m worried about is the Maggie Grace character of Kim, who is Bryan Mill’s daughter. In the first movie she succeeds in being an incredibly annoying brat who does her best to get herself into trouble. That’s all well in good in the context of the movie – she needs to be kidnapped in order for her dad to beat the crap out of a bunch of people. But in Taken 2, it looks like she’s going to be the one trying to save people. I’m not sure if she’s up to the task, especially without any sort of training (she wants to be a singer according to the last movie, not a “preventer” like her dad) and no sympathy from half the audience who hated her in the original. According to Liam Neeson himself in an interview with Empire, “I’m able to, in a very covert way, instruct her to find out where I am being held because a sack’s been put over my head and I’m in the middle of a fucking dungeon! It’s highly impossible yet equally possible.” How they’re going to make that work I have no idea, but if anyone can do it – Liam Neeson can (he’s Aslan, Zeus, Ra’s Al Ghul, and Qui-Gon Jinn! The man can do anything!). Taken 2 premieres October 5th, 2012.

Skyfall

Next up is Skyfall, the latest in the James Bond franchise. We’ve had to wait so long for the 23rd installment due to all sorts of bankrupt production woes, but now we get to enjoy the man in the suit (even if he’s going to be drinking Heineken instead of a martini shaken not stirred). The new trailer gives us some great looks at the very hot Daniel Craig doing his thing as the British super spy. But what’s really exciting is the first looks of Javier Bardem as Silva and Ben Whishaw as Q. Check out the trailer featuring all these men in action:

As excited as I am to see Daniel Craig beating up bad guys on trains, massive explosions, and Dame Judy Dench – there is something that worries me. Why does Javier Bardem have blond hair? It’s not a good look for him, and considering I couldn’t really understand him in the first place he really doesn’t need another awkward haircut going against him. When it was first announced that he would be the villain I was incredibly excited (have you seen him in No Country for Old Men? He’s AMAZING). And Bardem seems to have the role down (see that slow walk towards Bond in the trailer above), but if I’m distracted by his bad hair I’m not going to be happy. Speaking of distractions… that Ben Whishaw is really hot. I think he’s going to be great as Q, and I’m glad they’re bringing that character back to the franchise (especially if that means I get another hot boy to drool over).

Javier Bardem as Silva

Aside from the sexy men in the trailer, we also get some of the plot explained. Apparently Dame Judy Dench’s M has lost some very important info on the active agents, which probably leads to a lot of them being killed. Our very own 007 is shot off a train, but lucky for us it’s only a flesh wound. Voldemort… I mean Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory… shows up in order to make M feel guilty and Q gives James Bond the best present ever (his very own PPK gun to shoot people with!). While we’re still fuzzy on a lot of the details, I can still tell that this movie is going to be awesome. It’s too bad we have to wait for November 9th, 2012 to finally see James Bond open a can of whoop ass on screen again.

 What do you guys think about the new trailers? Which one are you more excited about, Taken 2 or Skyfall?