Abduction (2011 film)
Encyclopedia
Abduction is an American action
thriller film, directed by John Singleton, starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins
, Sigourney Weaver
, Maria Bello
, Jason Isaacs
, Michael Nyqvist
, and Alfred Molina
. The film is about a teenager who finds out that his parents are not really his when he sees his baby picture on a missing people website. The film was released by Lionsgate on September 23, 2011.
) and Mara (Maria Bello
). He has a recurring nightmare, and consults a psychiatrist, Dr. Geraldine Bennett (Sigourney Weaver
) to discover why.
One day, Nathan is partnered with his longtime friend Karen Murphy (Lily Collins
) on a school assignment about missing children. Karen finds a website that shows what the children would look like as they got older through age-progression technology, and Nathan discovers that a young boy named Steven Price would look exactly like him, when Price got older. Searching in his basement, he finds the same shirt that Steven is wearing in the picture and realizes that he and Steven are the same person.
Nathan calls the website's owner, unaware that he is a Serbian terrorist. The man reports back to his commander, Nikola Kozlow (Michael Nyqvist
), who deploys two agents to Nathan's house. They attack Nathan's parents, who tell him to run before being murdered. The house is destroyed. Nathan and Karen escape and attempt to call the police, but the call is intercepted by CIA operative Frank Burton (Alfred Molina
), who tells Nathan that he's in danger, and sends a team to cow him up.
Before the team arrives, Dr. Bennett appears and tells Nathan that Burton can't be trusted. She reveals that Nathan's biological father, Martin, is a CIA agent who stole a list from Kozlow with the names of corrupt CIA operatives. Kozlow created the website in order to locate Nathan and use him as leverage to force Martin to return the list. Kozlow's men appear, having intercepted Nathan's call. Bennett tells Nathan to run away and head for a safe house in Arlington, Virginia. Karen decides to go with Nathan. Before they leave, Bennett tells him he can only trust his father and a man called Paul Rasen, and blows up her car to facilitate both their escape and her own.
Nathan and Karen arrive at the safe house, where Nathan finds Martin's cellphone, as well as an address and photo of his biological mother, Lorna Price. They discover that she is dead. Nathan visits her grave and Karen notices fresh flowers, so she asks the caretaker about recent visitors. He reveals that the last visitor was Paul Rasen from Nebraska.
Nathan and Karen head to Nebraska on a train; Kozlow's right-hand man follows them. When Karen leaves to get food, he kidnaps her and attempts to capture Nathan, but Nathan overpowers him and throws him off the train. Karen escapes and reunites with Nathan. They leave when the train stops in response to Kozlow's agent's death. Nathan takes Kozlow's agent's phone during the fight.
Burton and his men find the two and convince them that they want to help. They stop at a diner, where Burton tells Nathan about the list. Nathan checks Martin's phone and finds the list, which contains Burton's name. Before Burton can react, Kozlow's men attack the diner and kill several of Burton's men. Nathan and Karen escape while Burton and his partner kill Kozlow's men.
Kozlow's right-hand man's cellphone rings and Nathan answers it. Kozlow reveals that he has planned to kidnap Karen's parents and will kill them if Nathan doesn't give him the list. Nathan agrees, but says that he'll choose the place of the exchange. Kozlow agrees. Nathan realizes that his nightmares are due to repressed memories of Lorna being murdered by Kozlow while trying to protect him.
Nathan decides to give Kozlow the list at a Pirates baseball game, and reveals to Karen that he actually intends to kill Kozlow. Nathan receives a call from Martin (who is also at the stadium) who tells him not to give Kozlow the list. Nathan ignores his advice, and tries to shoot Kozlow, who steals the gun and tries to force Nathan to give him the list. Burton's men, stationed all over the stadium, open fire as Nathan escapes, with Kozlow in pursuit.
Martin calls Nathan and tells him to lure Kozlow to an open area. Nathan does so, and, as Kozlow prepares to kill Nathan, Martin (Dermot Mulroney
) kills Kozlow with a sniper shot fired from a nearby building. Burton's men appear and capture Nathan. On their way to CIA headquarters, Burton attempts to decrypt Martin's cellphone. However, his superiors reveal that Martin has warned them that Burton would attempt this in order to remove his own name, and Burton is detained.
Martin calls Nathan one last time and apologizes for everything. He says that he'll always be watching over Nathan, who reunites with Karen and Bennett, who tells him that she has arranged for him to live with her until he graduates, at which point he can move out to attend college. Nathan thanks her and leaves with Karen for a date in the empty stadium.
for Abduction in February 2010, with actor Taylor Lautner attached to the film. The studio won a bidding war for the screenplay, acquiring it for $1 million. Gotham Group and Vertigo Entertainment had developed the script, based on a story idea by Gotham's Jeremy Bell.
Lionsgate rushed to start filming in July, due to Lautner's schedule to begin work on the last two Twilight
films for Summit Entertainment
. Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff
was hired to work on the screenplay, and John Singleton signed on to direct in March. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lee Stollman, Roy Lee, and Doug Davison produced the film, and Jeremy Bell and Gabriel Mason executive produced. Lautner's father, Dan Lautner, also produced, the first film from their Tailor Made Entertainment label.
began on July 12, 2010 in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
area. Lionsgate returned to the region due to tax benefits from Pennsylvania's tax credit program
, after filming My Bloody Valentine 3D, Warrior, and The Next Three Days
there in 2008 and 2009. An open casting call for extras held at Carnegie Mellon University
drew over 900 people in June, many of whom were teenage fans of the Twilight film series.
Many of the film's scenes were shot in suburban Mount Lebanon, and some others in Forward Township
. Scenes were shot at Hampton High School
in Hampton Township, a suburb north of Pittsburgh. The school's name and mascot, the Talbot, appeared in the film, as well as real students, cheerleaders, and the marching band. Production continued in Pittsburgh, Mount Lebanon, Greensburg
and Hampton Township, and lasted into September 2010.
reports that 4% of 92 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 3.3 out of 10. The website's consensus is, "a soulless and incompetent action/thriller that not even a veteran lead actor could save, let alone Taylor Lautner." Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 25 based on 19 reviews.
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
gave the film a C, commenting that Lautner is "not a terrible actor, but if he wants a career after the Twilight
fades, he'll pick better films." Roger Moore of the Chicago Tribune
gave the film two out of four stars, saying it "falls in the same corner of the youth market as the Twilight movies. Some moments and many lines feel cribbed from that series." Andrew Barker of Variety
called the film "a haggardly slapdash Bourne Identity
knockoff, never rising above the level of basic competence." James Berardinelli
gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "For those who are indifferent to Lautner or who don't like him, the only way to survive Abduction is under the influence of a controlled substance, and even that may not be enough." Catherine Brown of Filmink also gave the film a scathing review, saying that "Singleton is poorly equipped to handle teenage angst, a fact made far worse by cringe-worthy dialogue and a wooden leading man who proves that he has not yet developed the skills required to carry a film."
The film became a moderate box office success. Abduction has only grossed $27.4 million domestically but did a bit better around the world with over $53.8 million to a total of $80.2 million worldwide.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
thriller film, directed by John Singleton, starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins
Lily Collins
Lily Jane Collins is a British-American actress and television personality.-Early life:Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, and is the daughter of British musician Phil Collins and his second wife, American-born Jill Tavelman...
, Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
, Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
, Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
, Michael Nyqvist
Michael Nyqvist
Rolf Åke Michael Nyqvist is a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known from his role as police officer Banck in the first series of Beck movies made in 1997. He is recently most recognized for his role in the internationally acclaimed Millennium series as...
, and Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
. The film is about a teenager who finds out that his parents are not really his when he sees his baby picture on a missing people website. The film was released by Lionsgate on September 23, 2011.
Plot
Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) is a teenager who lives with his parents, Kevin (Jason IsaacsJason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
) and Mara (Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
). He has a recurring nightmare, and consults a psychiatrist, Dr. Geraldine Bennett (Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
) to discover why.
One day, Nathan is partnered with his longtime friend Karen Murphy (Lily Collins
Lily Collins
Lily Jane Collins is a British-American actress and television personality.-Early life:Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, and is the daughter of British musician Phil Collins and his second wife, American-born Jill Tavelman...
) on a school assignment about missing children. Karen finds a website that shows what the children would look like as they got older through age-progression technology, and Nathan discovers that a young boy named Steven Price would look exactly like him, when Price got older. Searching in his basement, he finds the same shirt that Steven is wearing in the picture and realizes that he and Steven are the same person.
Nathan calls the website's owner, unaware that he is a Serbian terrorist. The man reports back to his commander, Nikola Kozlow (Michael Nyqvist
Michael Nyqvist
Rolf Åke Michael Nyqvist is a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known from his role as police officer Banck in the first series of Beck movies made in 1997. He is recently most recognized for his role in the internationally acclaimed Millennium series as...
), who deploys two agents to Nathan's house. They attack Nathan's parents, who tell him to run before being murdered. The house is destroyed. Nathan and Karen escape and attempt to call the police, but the call is intercepted by CIA operative Frank Burton (Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
), who tells Nathan that he's in danger, and sends a team to cow him up.
Before the team arrives, Dr. Bennett appears and tells Nathan that Burton can't be trusted. She reveals that Nathan's biological father, Martin, is a CIA agent who stole a list from Kozlow with the names of corrupt CIA operatives. Kozlow created the website in order to locate Nathan and use him as leverage to force Martin to return the list. Kozlow's men appear, having intercepted Nathan's call. Bennett tells Nathan to run away and head for a safe house in Arlington, Virginia. Karen decides to go with Nathan. Before they leave, Bennett tells him he can only trust his father and a man called Paul Rasen, and blows up her car to facilitate both their escape and her own.
Nathan and Karen arrive at the safe house, where Nathan finds Martin's cellphone, as well as an address and photo of his biological mother, Lorna Price. They discover that she is dead. Nathan visits her grave and Karen notices fresh flowers, so she asks the caretaker about recent visitors. He reveals that the last visitor was Paul Rasen from Nebraska.
Nathan and Karen head to Nebraska on a train; Kozlow's right-hand man follows them. When Karen leaves to get food, he kidnaps her and attempts to capture Nathan, but Nathan overpowers him and throws him off the train. Karen escapes and reunites with Nathan. They leave when the train stops in response to Kozlow's agent's death. Nathan takes Kozlow's agent's phone during the fight.
Burton and his men find the two and convince them that they want to help. They stop at a diner, where Burton tells Nathan about the list. Nathan checks Martin's phone and finds the list, which contains Burton's name. Before Burton can react, Kozlow's men attack the diner and kill several of Burton's men. Nathan and Karen escape while Burton and his partner kill Kozlow's men.
Kozlow's right-hand man's cellphone rings and Nathan answers it. Kozlow reveals that he has planned to kidnap Karen's parents and will kill them if Nathan doesn't give him the list. Nathan agrees, but says that he'll choose the place of the exchange. Kozlow agrees. Nathan realizes that his nightmares are due to repressed memories of Lorna being murdered by Kozlow while trying to protect him.
Nathan decides to give Kozlow the list at a Pirates baseball game, and reveals to Karen that he actually intends to kill Kozlow. Nathan receives a call from Martin (who is also at the stadium) who tells him not to give Kozlow the list. Nathan ignores his advice, and tries to shoot Kozlow, who steals the gun and tries to force Nathan to give him the list. Burton's men, stationed all over the stadium, open fire as Nathan escapes, with Kozlow in pursuit.
Martin calls Nathan and tells him to lure Kozlow to an open area. Nathan does so, and, as Kozlow prepares to kill Nathan, Martin (Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney
-Early life:Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova University School of Law, originally from Elkader, Iowa. He has a sister, Moira, and three brothers, Conor,...
) kills Kozlow with a sniper shot fired from a nearby building. Burton's men appear and capture Nathan. On their way to CIA headquarters, Burton attempts to decrypt Martin's cellphone. However, his superiors reveal that Martin has warned them that Burton would attempt this in order to remove his own name, and Burton is detained.
Martin calls Nathan one last time and apologizes for everything. He says that he'll always be watching over Nathan, who reunites with Karen and Bennett, who tells him that she has arranged for him to live with her until he graduates, at which point he can move out to attend college. Nathan thanks her and leaves with Karen for a date in the empty stadium.
Cast
- Taylor Lautner as Nathan Harper/Steven Price
- Lily CollinsLily CollinsLily Jane Collins is a British-American actress and television personality.-Early life:Collins was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, and is the daughter of British musician Phil Collins and his second wife, American-born Jill Tavelman...
as Karen Murphy - Alfred MolinaAlfred MolinaAlfred Molina is a British-born American actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears...
as Frank Burton - Jason IsaacsJason IsaacsJason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
as Kevin Harper - Maria BelloMaria BelloMaria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
as Mara Harper - Sigourney WeaverSigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
as Dr. Geraldine Bennett - Elisabeth RöhmElisabeth RöhmElisabeth Röhm is a German-born American television actress. She is known for playing Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn in the American TV series Law & Order, and as Detective Kate Lockley in the TV series Angel....
as Lorna Price - Michael NyqvistMichael NyqvistRolf Åke Michael Nyqvist is a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known from his role as police officer Banck in the first series of Beck movies made in 1997. He is recently most recognized for his role in the internationally acclaimed Millennium series as...
as Nikola Kozlow - Aunjanue EllisAunjanue EllisAunjanue L. Ellis is an American actress known for her roles in Ray, in Undercover Brother, and on The Mentalist....
as Francheska - Antonique SmithAntonique SmithAntonique Smith is an American Broadway, film actress and singer.-Life and career:Smith was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Smith is best known for her starring roles as Maureen and Mimi in Jonathan Larson's Broadway production of Rent. She was also the poster girl for Rent, displayed on taxi...
as Sandra Burns - Dermot MulroneyDermot Mulroney-Early life:Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova University School of Law, originally from Elkader, Iowa. He has a sister, Moira, and three brothers, Conor,...
as Martin Price
Development
Lionsgate bought screenwriter Shawn Christensen's spec scriptSpec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
for Abduction in February 2010, with actor Taylor Lautner attached to the film. The studio won a bidding war for the screenplay, acquiring it for $1 million. Gotham Group and Vertigo Entertainment had developed the script, based on a story idea by Gotham's Jeremy Bell.
Lionsgate rushed to start filming in July, due to Lautner's schedule to begin work on the last two Twilight
The Twilight Saga (film series)
The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide...
films for Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
. Writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Jeffrey Nachmanoff is an American screenwriter and director. He wrote the screenplay for the 2004 blockbuster film The Day After Tomorrow. He wrote and directed Traitor, which was released on August 27, 2008.-Filmography:-Unproduced work:...
was hired to work on the screenplay, and John Singleton signed on to direct in March. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lee Stollman, Roy Lee, and Doug Davison produced the film, and Jeremy Bell and Gabriel Mason executive produced. Lautner's father, Dan Lautner, also produced, the first film from their Tailor Made Entertainment label.
Filming
On a budget of $35 million, principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began on July 12, 2010 in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
area. Lionsgate returned to the region due to tax benefits from Pennsylvania's tax credit program
Pennsylvania Film Production Tax Credit
The Pennsylvania Film Production Tax Credit is a tax credit program supporting the production of feature films and television programs in Pennsylvania. The tax credit was signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell in July 2004....
, after filming My Bloody Valentine 3D, Warrior, and The Next Three Days
The Next Three Days
The Next Three Days is a 2010 thriller film directed by Paul Haggis and starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2010 and was filmed on location in Pittsburgh...
there in 2008 and 2009. An open casting call for extras held at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
drew over 900 people in June, many of whom were teenage fans of the Twilight film series.
Many of the film's scenes were shot in suburban Mount Lebanon, and some others in Forward Township
Forward Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Forward Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,376 at the 2010 census. The township is named after Walter Forward, U.S...
. Scenes were shot at Hampton High School
Hampton High School (Allison Park, Pennsylvania)
Hampton High School is located in Hampton Township a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is managed by the Hampton Township School District. In 2005, Hampton High School was ranked 1st in the state for student performance on PSSAs. This was a Blue Ribbon School for 1994-96...
in Hampton Township, a suburb north of Pittsburgh. The school's name and mascot, the Talbot, appeared in the film, as well as real students, cheerleaders, and the marching band. Production continued in Pittsburgh, Mount Lebanon, Greensburg
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
and Hampton Township, and lasted into September 2010.
Track listing
- TrainTrain (band)Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan , Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood ....
– "To Be Loved" - Lenny KravitzLenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
– "Come On Get It" - Raphael SaadiqRaphael SaadiqRaphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
– "Heart Attack" - Oh LandOh LandNanna Øland Fabricius , better known by her stage name Oh Land, is a Danish singer-songwriter and record producer. She lives in Brooklyn, New York City.-Personal life:...
– "Twist" - Hot Bodies in Motion – "Under My Skin"
- Black Stone CherryBlack Stone CherryBlack Stone Cherry is an American rock band formed in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky. They are signed to Roadrunner Records. The band consists of Chris Robertson , Ben Wells , Jon Lawhon , and John Fred Young...
– "Blame It On The Boom Boom" - Blaqk AudioBlaqk AudioBlaqk Audio is an American electronic music duo formed by current AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget under Interscope Records. Their debut album CexCells was released on August 14, 2007 and reached number eighteen on the Billboard 200.-Origins:...
– "The Witness" - Cobra StarshipCobra StarshipCobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
– "#1 Nite" - Alexis JordanAlexis JordanAlexis Jordan is a National-Record-holding swimmer from Barbados. She swam for Barbados at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, 2005 World Championships, and CARIFTA and CCCAN Championships.-References:...
– "Good Girl" - Matthew Koma – "Novocaine Lips"
- Superstar Shyra – "DJ Love Song"
- DonoraDonora (band)Donora is an American indie pop/rock band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They first gained visibility in 2006 as semifinalists in the contest, "Calling All Bands", sponsored by MySpace and Verizon Wireless, for their song "She's Just a Girl"...
– "The Chorus" - Andrew Allen – "Loving You Tonight"
- Edward Shearmur – "Abduction Suite"
Reception
The film was universally panned by critics. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 4% of 92 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 3.3 out of 10. The website's consensus is, "a soulless and incompetent action/thriller that not even a veteran lead actor could save, let alone Taylor Lautner." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 25 based on 19 reviews.
Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the film a C, commenting that Lautner is "not a terrible actor, but if he wants a career after the Twilight
The Twilight Saga (film series)
The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide...
fades, he'll pick better films." Roger Moore of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
gave the film two out of four stars, saying it "falls in the same corner of the youth market as the Twilight movies. Some moments and many lines feel cribbed from that series." Andrew Barker of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "a haggardly slapdash Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity (2002 film)
The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American spy film loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency . The film also stars Franka...
knockoff, never rising above the level of basic competence." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
gave the film one out of four stars, saying, "For those who are indifferent to Lautner or who don't like him, the only way to survive Abduction is under the influence of a controlled substance, and even that may not be enough." Catherine Brown of Filmink also gave the film a scathing review, saying that "Singleton is poorly equipped to handle teenage angst, a fact made far worse by cringe-worthy dialogue and a wooden leading man who proves that he has not yet developed the skills required to carry a film."
The film became a moderate box office success. Abduction has only grossed $27.4 million domestically but did a bit better around the world with over $53.8 million to a total of $80.2 million worldwide.
See also
- The Face on the Milk CartonThe Face on the Milk Carton (film)The Face on the Milk Carton is a made for television movie based on the book series written by Caroline B. Cooney. The movie stars Kellie Martin as Janie Jessmon, a 15 year old girl who finds her face on the back of a milk carton and puts the pieces of her past together.-Plot:Janie Jessmons ...
, the 1995 television movie based on a book series