The premise of the movie, the veteran cast and a talented director were the reasons why I wanted to see this film, despite Taylor Lautner and that the trailer looked awful. Okay, I'll give the film some credit, it is not as bad as the trailer suggested.
However, the rest is hopelessly bland. The direction is rather plodding and never really that focused. Abduction doesn't necessarily look cheap, but the editing lacks finesse and feels stilted and the camera angles often have a dry and frenzied look to it particularly in the action sequences.
The music had some decent rock tunes on its own, but they don't always suit the tone of the film. The action itself is alright, but I couldn't properly enjoy it because the editing felt very awkward and frenzied, so any skill and intimacy was lost.
Dialogue-wise, Abduction is awful. It is very laboured, cliché-ridden and doesn't flow very well at all, complete with pop-culture references that I agree will date quickly. I liked the concept of the film, but I wasn't engaged by the story. The more dramatic scenes are unemotive, stodgy and contains Abduction's most stilted moments, while the ending is anti-climatic, the beginning was cheesy and plot points are poorly incorporated and resolved. I admire films that deal with themes that people can identify with, with Abduction using isolation and loss. The film's problem however is that it doesn't do anything with them.
Abduction's acting doesn't fare much better, with nobody looking natural in their roles. Taylor Lautner(he as an actor and the Twilight films I am very indifferent to) is wooden in a very irritating sense. He doesn't have enough charisma for the action and he seems very disconnected in the dramatic elements of the film. His abs look great but that's it. Lily Collins looks wonderful, but does or is given little else beyond that. Alfred Molina is a good actor, but not given much to do, while Jason Isaacs is wasted and Sigourney Weaver tries her best but hindered by awful dialogue and a character, like everyone else in all fairness, that I didn't care for at the end of the day.
Overall, a hopelessly bland, derivative, poorly acted and stilted film. 2/10 Bethany Cox
However, the rest is hopelessly bland. The direction is rather plodding and never really that focused. Abduction doesn't necessarily look cheap, but the editing lacks finesse and feels stilted and the camera angles often have a dry and frenzied look to it particularly in the action sequences.
The music had some decent rock tunes on its own, but they don't always suit the tone of the film. The action itself is alright, but I couldn't properly enjoy it because the editing felt very awkward and frenzied, so any skill and intimacy was lost.
Dialogue-wise, Abduction is awful. It is very laboured, cliché-ridden and doesn't flow very well at all, complete with pop-culture references that I agree will date quickly. I liked the concept of the film, but I wasn't engaged by the story. The more dramatic scenes are unemotive, stodgy and contains Abduction's most stilted moments, while the ending is anti-climatic, the beginning was cheesy and plot points are poorly incorporated and resolved. I admire films that deal with themes that people can identify with, with Abduction using isolation and loss. The film's problem however is that it doesn't do anything with them.
Abduction's acting doesn't fare much better, with nobody looking natural in their roles. Taylor Lautner(he as an actor and the Twilight films I am very indifferent to) is wooden in a very irritating sense. He doesn't have enough charisma for the action and he seems very disconnected in the dramatic elements of the film. His abs look great but that's it. Lily Collins looks wonderful, but does or is given little else beyond that. Alfred Molina is a good actor, but not given much to do, while Jason Isaacs is wasted and Sigourney Weaver tries her best but hindered by awful dialogue and a character, like everyone else in all fairness, that I didn't care for at the end of the day.
Overall, a hopelessly bland, derivative, poorly acted and stilted film. 2/10 Bethany Cox