Taking its cues from past action films Abduction is the tale of a young man who finds out his life is not what it seems starting with his apparent kidnapping when he was a toddler.
Film making 12/25
Video 18/25
Audio 12/25
Bonus Features 10/25
Total 52/100
Taylor Lautner plays Nathan Harper, a teenager who finds out he was apparently kidnapped when he was a toddler while working on a school project with schoolmate Karen Murphy played by Lily Collins. Nathan finds a picture of himself as a young kid on a abducted children’s website but the site is a plant to actually find him.
Serbian terrorists have built the website and dozens of others in order to get his attention after his father, a CIA agent disappeared with a list of corrupt CIA agents. The terrorists are trying to get at Nathans real father to get the list while Nathan has been living with a foster family who were pretending they are his real parents.
Things click into place when Nathan and Karen are on the run for their lives with a little help from Nathan’s psychiatrist Dr. Bennet played by Sigourney Weaver. Dr. Bennet is a CIA agent planted in Nathan’s life to help with the cover story and some counseling with Nathans troubled dreams from his past.
Nathan witnessed his real mothers kidnapping when he was young while hiding under a bed so he has had recurring nightmares that he has had trouble dealing with. Dr. Bennet has been his psychiatrist for years supposedly helping him with his dreams and anger issues that only clarify who is really is.
Nathan and Karen run from the terrorists and CIA agents who are working to keep the list of corrupt agents out of everyone’s hands because it would expose them. Nathan’s foster parents trained Nathan to fight among other things so Nathan would be ready if he needed the skills of a top secret agent.
Abduction takes a lot of story themes and ideas from past spy and thriller action films that kind of make things a bit too familiar. The film has that necessary mix of fast paced action gun toting bad guys and explosions that rip a house from its foundation but direction and writing are lacking.
One thing that does ring true with Abduction is the fact that the proverbial “They” are trying to see if Taylor Lautner is true to form in an action film not filled to the brim with mythical creatures. Taylor Lautner has his work cut out for him if he wants to break away from his Twilight roots and find a career in acting like so many type cast actors before him have.
Abduction is an alright film and does have some decent acting but is not one of those films to run out and buy right away. The films Blu-ray release has a few extras along with some very good video and audio but when the movie is not that much of a unique or original story the extras don’t much matter.
Video is very good with a subtle grain and great colors but the films motion blur can be distracting at times, usually I mention things I take note of while watching and this is one of those times. I noticed several times that blur was a part of fast paced scenes and wondered why until researching the film and finding other reviews that also mention this.
Other problems with odd camera movements and direction in general are the main problems with Abduction along with picking an actor for the lead role that was just not ready. Audio for the film is decent and oddly in a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that affirms the odd overall nature of the movie.
Audio including sound effects are a more generic type with what I can only call stock sound effects while voice is clear for the entire film. The odd choice of 7.1 surround for a film that turns out to be nothing more than a cheap action flick is odd and the sound does add to the films general mediocrity.
Bonus features include three making of features, a gag reel and the chance to view the content while watching the movie with the picture in picture ability. The extras are not that great and about what I would expect given the overall quality of the film and the direction it took on screen.
Abduction is an odd action film and a misnomer from the start given it does not include a real abduction but the fact that Nathan was hidden away in a foster family. Abduction on Blu-ray is not worth a purchase but may serve as a filler when no other film is worth your attention when stepping up to the rental outlet of your choice.
Abduction Website