Fugitive at 17

Holly Hamilton (Marie Avgeropoulos) is an independent loner teen computer hacker who has a history with the cops. She has only one friend and her name is Blake. When they go to a bar to celebrate, Blake is lured away by a serial rapist. Holly goes in search of Blake and comes upon the rapist. He kills Blake and frames Holly for the crime.

This is a made-for-TV movie, and it looks like it. Luckily the story had a little bit of ambition which made it somewhat watchable. Marie Avgeropoulos is good looking and fairly physical. But she doesn't really have the facial expressions to do in-depth acting. The story has some tension, but the low budget just doesn't allow for big action. It's watchable, but forgettable.

While bearing the stamp of a Lifetime movie, Fugitive at 17 is quite a few cuts above standard Lifetime fare. The story is not terribly original, but the writing, plotting and acting is a good deal more than you might expect. There are virtually none of the standard Lifetime tropes: sentimentality, amateurish performances and warm, upbeat, sappy smiles and chuckles exchanged among characters. The two leads are real actors. Marie Avgeropolous is a convincing and compelling performer with a focused intensity that is not overdone. Christina Cox's performance style is more reserved, but very professional and carefully crafted. We also get production values that exceed Lifetime's bland low-budget output. The pacing and well done suspense scenes in this movie should keep you away from the fast forward button.

Now THIS is a film to really get excited about on the Lifetime network. FUGITIVE AT 17 works extremely well as an action movie and as a thriller. The audience makes an immediate connection with Holly, our lead heroine played with fierce intensity by Marie Avgeropoulos. Once the inciting incident occurs as Holly is accused of her friend's drug murder, we're off and running on a roller coaster ride as she tries to evade her pursuers and find the truth. I was pleasantly surprised at how unpredictable and fun this film was. The smart writing and well done execution puts you right in the middle of all the action. The characters were developed well and the action keeps moving at a brisk pace. It definitely makes me want to see more in the "At 17" franchise.

Sorry to disagree with most other reviews. I thought the story line was very good and some of the actors did adequate jobs. Noteworthy the Grandmother, the female detective, Christina Cox, and the friend played by Cindel Chartrand. But the leading player, Marie Avger. . .., was over the top acting and seemed out of place opposite the other performers. Sort of high school acting when others played simplicity and believable characters. You had sympathy and compassion for them. This critic felt nothing for the leading role of Holly. She acted too much in the part. I always like to find something positive in actors and their work. But in this one, I gotta say I just didn't like her work. Maybe too old for a high school student and one look on her face throughout the movie. A blank sort of stare. Walking around so obviously conspicuously that it was funny. The scene in the restaurant where there were two cops, she walks out hunched over with this stupid hood over her face. So obvious. And continues walking everywhere with the hood over her head. I just thought she was wrong in the role as compared to the others. Sorry.

Why is it that you can immediately see it when it is a television movie? From the first second of Fugitive At 17 it screams TV movie. From the first second I already regretted watching this movie. It oozes bad script, bad acting, and bad sound. The story is one of those stories we all saw hundred times before but all with a better execution. The major characters in this movie are played by Christina Cox and Marie Avgeropoulos, and it's obvious they will never get a big role in a decent movie. They are perfect to appear everynow and then in dumb series. No need to say their characters are painful to watch due to their mediocre acting. To create an ambiance in a movie you need good sound effects and music, and this was probably the lamest thing about this movie while it should be the easiest thing to fix. Nothing wrong with TV movies though, there are some good ones, but this one is clearly not one of them.