I did like how the movie started off. With the "rascal" Lautner (his character) and the mystery surrounding him. You get the wildest ideas (especially if you haven't heard about the story) where this might go. But as you may already know it gets pretty bog-standard after that. Lautner does his action-shtick and Singleton seems to do a for hire job after all.

The clichés keep mounting up and the action scenes keep on coming (not that it makes much sense). Someone like Jason Isaacs might have been able to ground the whole thing, if they'd let him (but they got other ideas for him). Mostly for Lautner fans and people who like simple action entertainment

This film is a prime example to why certain actors are very underrated in Hollywood....I call it "The Luke Skywalker Syndrome"....One hit franchise that wrecks a young actor's career before it can really get started....

The Twilight franchise....Although successful....Isn't a franchise that is critically acclaimed or well liked by fans other than young people with out-of-control hormones....And because of this...Films like Abduction is either overlooked or totally panned by fans...

Sitting down to watch this film with Twilight in mind is going to ensure that viewers will NOT have a good time....Which is why wonderful movies like "Welcome To The Rileys" and "The Runaways" both starring Kristen Stewart didn't get nearly enough attention....

Now is this particular film original..??...No, it's not....I have seen the "My picture on the milk carton" routine used more than once....But is Abduction a fun movie..??...Yes it is...

Abduction is a popcorn movie....It's meant to simply allow the audience to have a good time....If people go into this movie expecting Oscar-like performances and a beautifully written storyline...Then those people are setting themselves up for a big let down...

But why put yourself through that when all that needs to be done is to simply sit back and enjoy the ride....And that's all there is too it...

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