Abduction - Riprenditi la tua vita

Is this going to be an Oscar contender, NO. Is it a good movie, definitely. Not too much blood, profanity and really no sex. There were 6 of us together from 13 to 55 and we all enjoyed it.

I was certainly entertained and that is what it is all about. Could some things have been different, well sure. They can make it better when we check in with Nathan in about 10 years.

Hopefully Sigorney Weaver and Alfred Molina will still be alive to do it. Taylor is still fairly new as far as acting goes and still has some things to learn. Hopefully he will in time and I will be watching all his movies.

If you want a nice enjoyable movie then you must see this one.

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.

Let me open with what any film review should address: I did not enjoy this movie. But first, a disclaimer: despite my reasons, I want to assure you that none of my negative points will verbally lambast lead actor Taylor Lautner just because 'he's some guy from Twilight.' Nor will I make scalding reference to his gratuitous lack of upper body wear; the kind that one would hope comes off as witty commentary but ends up sounding more like an awkward combination of contempt and jealousy. So, with that out of the way, let's get started.

When the shy but short-tempered Nathan (Lautner) is paired up with girl next door Karen (Lily Collins) for a school research assignment, he is shocked to find an image of his younger self on a 'missing persons' website, prompting him to question everything he thought was normal about his life. When the cover is blown, he and Karen find themselves on the run, unable to trust anyone in their search for the truth.

Not only will I not target any more of this review towards Lautner personally, I will even concede that he does his best on what is otherwise a sinking ship from the opening scene. Naturally, his acting skills do need refinement, and I expect we're not looking at the next De Niro here, but his occasionally lackluster delivery is simply a branch of a much bigger problem- the script.

As an unapologetic actioner, it should be expected that Abduction possesses some of the clunky dialogue clichés associated with the genre. These include, but are not limited to 'trust has to be earned', 'I'm not leaving without her' and perennial favourite 'wait…how do you know my name?', which is actually used more than once. But among these tired expressions is a handful of headscratchers; lines intended to act as cool quips but possessing an undoubtedly cringe-worthy aftertaste. For example, after Gerry (Sigourney Weaver) helps Nathan escape using balloons to cover security cameras (a la Ocean's Eleven) she releases them with the deadpan, utterly serious line of 'I hate balloons'. So you see my point.

The set pieces are just as ludicrous, asking the viewer to buy into the movie too much when we have not been given any reason to engage with the plot in the first place. In one instance, we bear witness to a CIA agent (operating undercover as a suburban housewife) easily take out two trained assassins. The climax set at a baseball game is a storytelling train wreck, fraught with inconsistencies and overly convenient outcomes. At the very least, I hoped a film set in Pittsburgh would show some love for the mighty Steelers instead of the lowly Pirates, but I digress.

General flaws in logic and realism are other aspects that can be attributed to this type of movie without having them become a major concern. Often, we tend to overlook moments which would result in serious injury for the hero in real life simply because he's just that, a hero. I'm also willing to pass these moments off, but in Abduction they occur so often, and on such a noticeable scale that they severely detract from any engagement with the film that could be developed as it progresses, and therein lies its greatest letdown.

I commend the satisfactory action scenes, which minimised the kind of close-up, rapid camera movement that has drawn the bulk of my ire in recent months. Also, I was pleased to see the film show a bit of gumption by avoiding an entirely happy, alls-well-that-ends-well conclusion, but these upsides are not enough to sweeten what is otherwise an inherently flawed film.

*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review.*

I did like how the movie started off. With the "rascal" Lautner (his character) and the mystery surrounding him. You get the wildest ideas (especially if you haven't heard about the story) where this might go. But as you may already know it gets pretty bog-standard after that. Lautner does his action-shtick and Singleton seems to do a for hire job after all.

The clichés keep mounting up and the action scenes keep on coming (not that it makes much sense). Someone like Jason Isaacs might have been able to ground the whole thing, if they'd let him (but they got other ideas for him). Mostly for Lautner fans and people who like simple action entertainment

I actually liked this movie. I went to see it with my 17 year old daughter. I'm not a fan of twilight after the first movie I wasn't interested. I LOVED Maria Bello and Jason Isaacs. I LOVED the action it was pretty good. That acting wasn't THAT bad. I could help but think... that's doc oc for Molina. I expected to see Spiderman spinning a web somewhere. I blame the writing on this one. In my house we group movies into 4 groups. Definitely must see in theater, Matinée prices..we'll take a chance, DVD when it comes to red box, and never watch. This is in round number 3. I paid 5 bucks to see this one. Lautner is an okay actor in this one. Lily was heavy in the eyebrow department. I'm not expecting great acting out of a movie like this one. Entertainment value alone gives it a good rating for me.