Rent Abduction (2011)

Abduction review by Melissa Orcine - Cinema Paradiso

Taylor Lautner, Twilight movies’ teen wolf, becomes the seemingly Baby Jason Bourne in director John Singleton’s ‘Abduction’. In it Launter is Nathan Harper, a teenager who is going through the daily travails of young adulthood. He attends pool parties, has a crush on his next-door neighbor Karen (Lily Collins), and knows more martial arts than the Karate Kid. In fact, Nathan has been training with his macho father (Jason Isaacs) on hand-to-hand combat; he can actually do it even with a hangover. What’s up with that parenting style? There’s a reason for that. Does it have anything to do with the picture of Nathan’s three-year-old self on a website for missing kids?

‘Abduction’ has an interesting premise: a teen with an uncertain past, whose life he has been living is a lie, with strangers for parents, and a troop of CIA operatives and Serbia goons on his tail. Who is Nathan Harper? Can’t he just be a teenager and play video games instead of fighting off bad guys? Unfortunately in ‘Abduction’, the once-engaging plot turns into a dud. Not only does the movie become an action sequence extravaganza for the tween crowd, it also does not bode well for actor Taylor Lautner’s career.

It cannot be denied that Taylor Lautner is cute and cut – have you seen his abs?! But his age shows; his acting chops need to be garnished with more experience. His physicality is amazing though; Lautner is a martial arts champion and he can go one-on-one with the stunt guys, but ‘Abduction’ should have been his breakout role, not a stunt guy audition.

Director John Singleton made a mark with seminal films such as ‘Boys N The Hood’, a gritty account of the ghetto. In ‘Abduction’, you see Singleton’s ‘2 Fast 2 Furious’ action leanings and like his veteran actors, he too is earning his paycheck. In the interim, guy’s got to eat.