CityLife

Cinema Review: Abduction

Taylor Lautner

When 16-year-old Taylor Lautner was cast as lovesick Jacob Black in the first Twilight film, media attention focused on Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and their sizzling chemistry.
Then Lautner gained 30lb of muscle to convincingly portray Jacob’s transformation into a snarling werewolf. Overnight, the young actor became a sex symbol and gained a following to rival his co-stars.
Lautner strikes out on his own in the action-packed thriller Abduction, in which he attempts to prove that he’s much more than a pretty face with washboard abs. Alas, he’s picked a dud.
John Singleton’s film boasts turbo-charged chases and fight sequences but Shawn Christensen’s script is littered with unintentionally hilarious interludes and some excruciating dialogue.
High school student Nathan Harper (Lautner) thinks he has the perfect life with caring parents Kevin (Jason Isaacs) and Mara (Maria Bello). Yet something is amiss. “I walk around like everyone else but inside I feel like a stranger in my own life,” Nathan tells his shrink, Dr Bennett (Sigourney Weaver), who twitches nervously at the camera, tipping us off that she knows more than she is letting on.
While researching a school project on missing children, Nathan discovers that he bears an uncanny resemblance to the age-modified image of a boy who went missing many years ago. Before Nathan has a chance to learn the truth, assassins slay them and the teenager goes on the run with love interest Karen in tow, aided by best friend Gilly (Denzel Whitaker).
Then shadowy CIA Agent Burton (Alfred Molina) makes contact with Nathan and warns the teenager that he a pawn in a dastardly plot.
Abduction is utter nonsense from hormone-fuelled beginning to end.

Starring: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Denzel Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Michael Nyqvist, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello. Director: John Singleton.
Certificate: 12A.