ABDUCTION (USA 2011) *
Directed by John Singleton

The film centres upon a Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner, the very good looking teen from TWILIGHT), who has had the uneasy feeling that he’s living someone else’s life.  He sees a shrink (Sigourney Weaver) for the problem.

When he stumbles upon an image of himself as a little boy on a missing persons website, all of Nathan’s darkest fears come true: he realizes his parents are not his own and his life is a lie, carefully fabricated to hide something more mysterious and dangerous than he could have ever imagined. Just as he begins to piece together his true identity, Nathan is targeted by a team of trained killers, forcing him on the run with the only person he can trust, his neighbour, Karen (Lily Collins). Every second counts as Nathan and Karen race to evade an army of assassins and federal operatives.  He finds his true father, who saves him and the day.

For a movie with an ok TV movie type premise, everything else in the film backfires.  Singleton’s direction is atrocious.  He seems to be going through the motions resulting in an absolutely boring piece with action scenes that are no less exciting than watching a Road Runner cartoon.  For a film that should contain a bit of violence and language, thus film would be ok rated for toddlers.  The editing is awful as witnessed in the climactic scene taking place in a stadium full of baseball fans.  All potential for excitement like a possible stampede or crowd pandemonium is left unutilized.  Even Singleton is unable to sap some sentimentality from the reunion between Nathan and his real father.  Though this would be sappy, it would otherwise lift the film out of the doldrums.

Lautner is hoping that this film with him in a starring role carrying the piece would put him in the same shoes as Tom Cruise, whom it is reported, he admires.  No way!  Lautner thinks acting means squinting the eyes.  The guy playing the hot dog vender in the film does a better job than Lautner.  Lily Collins as his romantic interest fares just as badly.  Alfred Molina as Agent Frank Burton and Mario Bello as the mother add just a little class to the otherwise classless act.

It is hard to believe that John Singleton directed the unforgettable BOYZ N THE HOOD.  This poor man’s (or rather, beggar’s version) of UNKNOWN made strictly for Lautner fans would best be forgotten as a really embarrassing piece of brown stuff.  The film is over-rated on Rotten Tomatoes with a 0%.