When it’s over, Abduction was an attempt to sell Taylor Lautner as a teen action hero and tried to be a spy thriller at the same time. This was a plus for the young star, but a minus for the later, since the story wasn’t engaging nor was it suspenseful. Lautner grew up a lot in this film as an actor, but still had awkward moments where his acting seemed forced. But, where he lacked in drama, he got bonus points for performing most of his own stunts. Having studied martial arts at an early age, Lautner really put those skills to use as he swung, kicked, punched, and jumped to protect himself from the baddies. Riding off the success of the Twilight series, he managed to shed the Jacob persona and put his best foot forward as Nathan Harper, a teen who finds himself on the run when he discovers that his whole life has been a lie. There was a talented cast put in place, such as Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Alfred Molina, and Michael Nyqvist to support Lautner on his post Jacob film, but even their talents couldn’t save the story from dwindling to oblivion. In addition, casting Lily Collins as Nathan’s love interest was a big mistake. No sparks. No chemistry. Nothing interesting about their relationship. Lautner did try his best, though, and his efforts did come through in the energy he projected onscreen, but sadly, it wasn’t enough to make this film soar. I put a lot of emphasis on Lautner, because I think he, as an actor, not his character, was the one carrying this film, since the target audience was meant to be young adults, mostly female. That’s a lot of pressure for a young star, and I think if the story had been better developed with stronger character motives, the film would have appealed to greater audiences, giving the young actor the boost he needed to reach A-List status.
My rating: 2 out of 5
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