Sheena’s review:
Hmmm where do I start? I saw Abduction this past Saturday evening with my hubby whilst on holiday here in Florida. We actually had to drive to a second cinema as the first one we tried to get in to was sold out! When we finally took our seats in the second cinema the audience consisted of a few couples and a few groups, some of which were obvious Lautner fans who you could pick out from the screams when Taylor came on screen. Oh they get so excitable those Lautner fans
I didn’t particularly have any expectations for the movie, even though it has been hyped to death. But I came out thinking that, in my opinion, it could have been a better. Don’t get me wrong I liked it, but I just found a few things a little hard to believe. I’ll explain…
‘Nathan’, Taylor Lautner, is your typical teenage boy; likes to live on the edge and party with his friends, even ride on the hoods of cars (that’s a bonnet to us UK folk) to get his adrenaline pumping. But Nathan also apparently has rage issues (none of which we really get a good glimpse of in the film, even when his life is being threatened and also that of his teenage crush girl next door neighbour, ‘Karen’, Lily Collins. She actually lives across the street, so they can make puppy eyes at each other more easily when they take the trash out ) and has to see a psychiatrist, Sigourney Weaver, on a regular basis.
Now one thing that got me from the beginning is that Nathan’s parents, ‘Mara’ and ‘Kevin’ – Maria Bello of E.R fame, Coyote Ugly and various other movies, and Jason Isaacs, whom Harry Potter fans will recognize as Luscious Malfoy – don’t really look a thing like Taylor; they have different skin tones for starters. If I were their kid I would surely have been questioning if I were adopted way before this. And seriously only now does he realise that his loving parents have only two photos of him as a child? And none of them all as a family when he was a baby? Despite the poor casting they do a great job. However Jason Issacs, if someone was coming at me with a gun and I had a gun I would just shoot them and not go in to hand to hand combat with them…Just saying. But then that’s not your fault, that’s the fight choreographers.
There are other things that I could pick holes in – such as the fact Nathan’s motorbike manages to survive his entire house being blown up…even though it was most likely in range of falling debris… again just saying… And at one point Nathan and Karen wade through the river and when they wake up on the bank next to it after falling asleep, the river is red with clay, yet their clothes aren’t even stained? Hmmm…
But any hoo, I digress. The film is entertaining and all parties do a good job. Lily Collins’ eyebrows in particular have a great stand out performance! I would have just liked to have seen Taylor stretched a little more, both in acting and physical performance, and perhaps Nathan could have let go of some of his rage – in a somewhat controlled manner obviously – when he was getting the crap beaten out of him…
I would recommend this for Lautner fans without hesitation. I would also recommend it if you wanted a night out as like I said it’s enjoyable…. But I hope if they have a sequel in the works they up their game and show what I’m sure Taylor is capable of.
Now why is it when I see this all I hear in my head is 'I'm a little teapot...' Do you think his hidden arm is making the spout? lol
