Atemlos - Gefährliche Wahrheit

I'll admit it, I thought the trailer for this action-thriller looked pretty good and, despite it being a Taylor Lautner vehicle, was quietly excited about seeing it. Well why shouldn't I have been? It stars legendary thespians Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina, as well as respected actors Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello. And the close quarters combat looked appealing too. I figured it couldn't be too bad. I was wrong. Way wrong. One of the worse blockbusters to grace our cinemas in recent times, Abduction demonstrates just how poor a film can be when those involved are only there for the money. The aforementioned veteran cast are positively woeful, John Singleton's direction is stilted and lead star Lautner (you may know him as Jacob from Twilight) has a long way to go before he will make a decent headliner. With crappy special effects and a forgettable soundtrack, this is all round terrible.

Five minutes. That was how long it took before Taylor Lautner took his shirt off in his purportedly gritty action thriller 'Abduction'- and depending on how you took to that fact, you may find yourself enjoying every minute of it or cringing in disbelief. Right from the start, this Taylor-made vehicle makes no excuses for being a breakout role for the 'Twilight' star- after all, if Team Edward (or Robert Pattinson) can do it, then there's no reason why Team Jacob can't do likewise.

Nonetheless, it seems that Team Jacob should have just stayed in the woods of Forks, Washington, for this insipid Bourne-wannabe does him nor his fans no favours. Rather, (and we may be risking our life and limb by saying this) it only demonstrates his limitations as an actor, especially since he practically recycles the same angsty broody expression throughout the film that he had already put forth umpteen times in the 'Twilight' movies. And no, being a teenager who discovers that the people you call 'mother' and 'father' aren't in fact your real parents isn't much of an excuse too.

That's the predicament Lautner's character Nathan finds himself in one day, after stumbling across a website with photos of missing children and using some software to approximate what one of those kids could look like as a teenager. Though that's the very premise of the movie, the least we expected was for debut feature film screenwriter Shawn Christensen to come up with a better lead in than just some stupid research assignment Nathan and his girl next door Karen (Lily Collins, daughter of singer Phil) was assigned to work together on.

Logic and coherence are however too much evidently to demand, as one would have to suspend both to believe that Nathan is suddenly at the centre of global espionage with both the good guys (led by 'Spiderman 2's' Alfred Molina) and the bad guys (led by Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist from 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo') in pursuit. Apparently, Nathan is the son of a top secret CIA undercover operative whose 'parents' (Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello) are fellow CIA agents sent to protect him while his father is away. As with all chases, the aim is for something that Nathan has in his possession- some encrypted code with the names of dirty CIA agents.

It takes almost half an hour before the action kicks in, the introduction that sets up Nathan's adolescent issues and his secret high-school crush on Karen pure tedium that is definitely not director John Singleton's forte. Thankfully, the pace picks up considerably once Nathan is thrust into that implausible situation, with Singleton clearly at ease setting up the film's various action sequences. One of the first that sees Nathan's 'parents' murdered is shot and edited for maximum thrills, and the climax set in a packed stadium with a live baseball match also packs suspense.

To Lautner's credit, the action also looks good because he performs most, if not all, of the stunts by himself- whether tackling a bigger- sized guy MMA-style or fleeing from the bad guys with parkour. Singleton doesn't go for the shaky-cam technique, allowing his audience to appreciate Lautner's physicality in its full glory. Even so, taking on the lead role requires Lautner to perform some serious acting in order for us to identify with his character's inner distress, but the square- jawed actor with his one-note performance fails to inspire any empathy.

The fault doesn't lie with Lautner entirely- to appeal to the teenage demographic which the producers are relying on to turn up for this movie, they have decided to amp up the obligatory romance between Nathan and Karen, even to the extent of letting the two teenage characters engage in some heavy making-out that stops just before it crosses the PG13 boundary. It is distracting and laughable, although the latter seems to be in line with most of the awful dialogue in the film.

Not even veteran stars like Isaacs, Bello, Molina, Nyqvist and Sigourney Weaver (who plays Nathan's psychologist) can redeem this at-best made- for-TV thriller that tries to be the younger version of the Bourne series. So as much as Team Jacob may wish for Lautner to be their Matt Damon, or even Tom Cruise, it is clear from his debut headlining movie that once the 'Twilight' phenomenon fades, the same can probably be said of Lautner's acting career as well.

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I managed to convince my friends to watch this movie because I told them the trailer was killer. But, boy was I proved wrong. The movie was a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

Sneak preview tickets are more expensive than normal movies. But I thought it was gonna be good so I paid for it. Only to end up watching a very bland, non-climactic movie with a very poorly written storyline. The only highlight of the show was seeing Taylor Lautner acting as a normal high school kid instead of a werewolf. But still, sad to say his acting had no charisma at all. His co-actress Lily Collins was no better, or maybe it was just her character that was so unlikeable, it made the whole movie really draggy.

First quarter of the movie was still fine, but then it started to get cheesy.... There were so many loopholes in the movie and it just feels like the script and plot were very poorly planned. I sense sloppy work there. I left the theatre feeling so bewildered. So you might say:"it's just a movie.... not everything makes sense" But comparing to big action-spy movie names like Bourne, Mission Impossible and Die Hard which have delivered an excellent movie experiences which leaves you at the edge of your seat, Abduction feels more like a chick-flick packed with more action, or maybe a budget action film. It's very subtle.

The parts I enjoyed in the movie was the presence of veterans like Sigourney Weaver, Mario Bello and my favourite, Jason Isaacs who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. They are always a joy to have and see in movies.

I wouldn't recommend watching this movie. Unless you just want to see Taylor Lautner, I would rather you give this show a miss. If you really want to go for it, don't get your hopes too high.

This film is a prime example to why certain actors are very underrated in Hollywood....I call it "The Luke Skywalker Syndrome"....One hit franchise that wrecks a young actor's career before it can really get started....

The Twilight franchise....Although successful....Isn't a franchise that is critically acclaimed or well liked by fans other than young people with out-of-control hormones....And because of this...Films like Abduction is either overlooked or totally panned by fans...

Sitting down to watch this film with Twilight in mind is going to ensure that viewers will NOT have a good time....Which is why wonderful movies like "Welcome To The Rileys" and "The Runaways" both starring Kristen Stewart didn't get nearly enough attention....

Now is this particular film original..??...No, it's not....I have seen the "My picture on the milk carton" routine used more than once....But is Abduction a fun movie..??...Yes it is...

Abduction is a popcorn movie....It's meant to simply allow the audience to have a good time....If people go into this movie expecting Oscar-like performances and a beautifully written storyline...Then those people are setting themselves up for a big let down...

But why put yourself through that when all that needs to be done is to simply sit back and enjoy the ride....And that's all there is too it...

Watched this last night, and it was mostly what I expected. After a wonky beginning, it's generally a popcorn, action/date movie that's not exactly high-art. The film is not the worst thing you've ever seen - it's really just an escape, with a good production, and that's it.

Zillions of reviews say Lautner was horrible. Huh? I really think people are just jealous. He was fine and didn't overact - he was sincere, fit the role & there is little reason to be upset.

These reviews lacerating Lautner were like people destroying Paris Hilton from "House of Wax," when in actuality, she was honestly alright in that. Not a big deal. Granted, I don't have strong feelings about either performer.

With a strong budget of $30M, the film looked confident and solid by John Singleton, the film is a fairly easy watch as it goes along, & the supporting cast of admired actors (Weaver, Molina, Bello) were fine.

Singleton isn't too flashy, and might just be cashing a check... but one thing he would do is make sure that the actors would have their moments, instead of too many quick cutaways.

The story is kind of fun in the moment, but, sure it's silly when you think about it afterwards. But, mehh. It was fun. Nothing is horrendous about 'Abduction.' I saw two of the Twilight films and thought they were easy to watch as well & not really a big deal. And Lautner's disposition is somewhat similar in Abduction as he was in Twilight. I think that's alright & he fit the roles fine.

If I were to complain about anything is that ½ of the fighting looked good, but ½ wasn't that great. Secondly, the dialog was usually fine, but it could get so dull/ cliché I felt sorry for the actors.

Thirdly, the ending climax with the villain was just straight-forward; you really see it coming. It's not clever at all & it felt very '80s. Fourthly, some of the chasing sequences were good, but sometimes they could lack blood-pumping momentum. Despite the complaints, the film is still a fun adventure.

I'd read so many bad reviews of this film...that maybe my expectations were low. But honestly, the film was fine and kinda fun. Just an escape.