Review of Abduction (2011) by Movie F — 07 Jan 2017

Nathan is at high school. He discovers a younger picture of himself on a missing persons register. Once he starts investigating, he is drawn into a game of intrigue involving the CIA and foreign agents, where nothing is what it seems and nobody can be trusted.

A pretty conventional action-drama. Has a degree of intrigue but this just feels contrived and implausible. Plot develops in random, get-to-the-next-action-scene fashion, meaning that not much makes sense after a while.

Cast should be a give away that this wasn't going to be anything more than a weak teen-orientated fluff piece. While we do have the gravitas of such great performers as Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina, we also have the talentless Taylor Lautner in the lead role. Clearly just there for his muscles and to get the moronic Twilight fans to watch the movie, he really doesn't help the movie. What little credibility it had disappeared once he was cast and he lives up to the reputation, giving a very wooden performance.

Lily Collins plays the love interest and puts in a solid performance, especially considering the (weak) material she had to work with.

Sad that John Singleton's career has come to this. Considering that he directed Boyz n the Hood and Higher Learning, two great social commentaries, this movie is truly beneath him.