Abduction
Starring: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Sigourney Weaver, Maria Bello, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs
Director: John Singleton
Rating: 2/5
With the Twilight Saga drawing to a close actor Taylor Launter is making his first attempt to move away from the franchise by taking on a more action role in the form of Abduction.
A teen finds himself in mortal danger after realizing that his entire childhood has been built on lies.
Realising that the people who raised him aren't his real parents after stumbling across a childhood photo of himself on a website devoted to missing children, the frightened teen flees for his life as FBI agents Frank Burton and Sandra Burns race to protect him and uncover the truth about his mysterious past.
The real problem with this movie is we have seen it all before and director John Singleton brings nothing new to the table or adds nothing to the action genre.
It's all just a little bit predictable - kid is thrust into a world he knew nothing about but finds he can miraculously survive in it; we have seen it with the likes of Stormbreaker, it didn't work then and it doesn't really work now.
This is a first major lead role for the young actor and, at times, that inexperience really shows as he struggles to make the best of a particularly dull script.
While I am sure that Lautner will have other chances to make his mark he is not yet ready to carry the weight of a movie such as this - but he must be applauded for taking on a different genre and trying to get film fans to see for something more than just Jacob Black.
The central relationship with Lautner and Lily Collins is cute enough, but is perhaps the most genuine thing in the film as they go on the run.
Sadly the talents of Sigourney Weaver are drastically underused -it would have been nice to see her take on more of the action; rather than just popping up every now or again.
And Alfred Molina is in no way shape or form tested but he does bring a certain level of menace and uncertainty to his character - which you would expect from an actor of his caliber. However you have to ask yourself why did he take this project on?
I wouldn't go as far as to call this movie awful as there are some good moments in it - and Lautner does show the potential to possibly be an action star.
But the major downfall is it just lacks originality and it seems that Singleton was more interested in a action set pieces than really developing a strong storyline with interesting characters - rather then just paper thin versions of characters that we have seen before.
Abduction is out now. Take a look at some images from the movie.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw