Abduction

Having seen the 'Twilight' series develop, we always thought that Taylor Lautner (who plays hulking werewolf Jacob) had a real chance of breaking out beyond the franchise. Well this is the film that has made us seriously reconsider. He offers very little, apart from an impressive physique and a constant pained expression.

The hype...
Looking to break free from the billion-dollar 'Twilight' franchise, Taylor Lautner takes centre stage in this action/thriller by veteran director John Singleton. It looks like a standard 'man on the run' genre flick, entirely unoriginal but with the potential for some exciting set-pieces.

The story...
Athletic student Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) seems to have it all. His parents are picture-perfect, he's striking up a promising relationship with girl-next-door Karen (Lilly Collins) and even his previous rage issues are a thing of the past thanks to therapist Dr Bennett (Sigourney Weaver).

Nathan's world, however, is turned upside down when a nagging feeling that has plagued him throughout his life turns out to be true. He's living someone else's life, and his parents aren't what they seem to be.

The discovery triggers an international incident involving a group of foreign mercenaries and the CIA, both of whom are desperate to find the youngster who has taken flight with Karen following an attack on the family home. On the run, Nathan must piece together the mystery around his childhood and seek out the few people he can trust before it is too late.

The breakdown...
Five whole minutes. That's how long Taylor Lautner fans will have to wait before they see the 'Twilight' star in his trademark shirtless pose. There, now that we've got that out of the way, let's dissect exactly what is wrong with this lamentable movie.

With references to 'The Fugitive' and most obviously 'The Bourne Identity', there is nothing new in this film. Attempts to keep mystery going throughout the story only result in huge gaps in logic.

The villains come straight out of the 'vague Eastern European' rulebook: all leather jackets and incompetent attempts to capture the hero. Every chance they get to terminate the threat, they offer up an easy escape route that even Lautner can blunder his way out of.

Lautner himself has displayed some ability in Stephanie Meyer's vampire series, but here he shows nothing more than the basics from the Joey Tribbiani school of acting. His attempt at a pensive expression and constant mid-distance glances made us think of the 'smell the fart' acting technique, and the older actors weren't much better.

Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs and Mario Bello should all be contacting their agents, while Alfred Molina continues to defy logic by plotting the laziest career path imaginable with the occasional moment of brilliance. This is not that, by the way, we were referring to films like 'An Education'.

Another constant source of disappointment is director John Singleton. The sheer audacity of his debut film 'Boyz 'N the Hood' is now a distant memory, and this is arguably the worst possible project to take on when trying to re-establish yourself as a filmmaker. Utterly generic, utterly dull and utterly pointless.

The verdict...
Tediously plotted as a 'Baby Bourne' movie, 'Abduction' is as poor as we feared it would be. An action film with zero excitement and laughably bad performances to boot.

Rating: 1/5

‘Abduction’ is due to be released in the UK on 30 September. Certificate: 12A.