Taylor Lautner has to act fast or else be forever known as Jacob from the Twilight Saga. While 2010's Valentine's Day was more of an ensemble piece than a true anti-typecast effort, Lautner's finally venturing out on his own in 2011 with John Singleton's action packed Abduction.
Playing Nathan, a high school senior who has just discovered his baby photo on a missing person's website, Lautner is thrown into the chaos and confusion that comes when one's own identity is called into question. Though countless references are made to his lack of childhood photos, Nathan is shocked by the news. But thankfully he has a weird friendship with his next door neighbor Karen, played by the quickly rising Lily Collins. Together they go on the run in search of answers.
To put it frankly, John Singleton has completely missed the mark here. Having helmed such classics as Boyz n the Hood, Shaft and 2 Fast 2 Furious the stakes were high for Lionsgate's action packed thriller, and boy did he disappoint. On the bright side Singleton was able to attract a plethora of iconic adult actors, including the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Maria Bello and Jason Isaacs. All deliver adequately for their respective roles, but when placed within the confines of the story their talent seems a bit overwhelming compared to the rest.
For what it is Abduction will likely appeal to the Twilight fan base without any problem. There are some stunts and wild chase sequences, but the violence is highly constrained as the studio required a PG-13 rating for revenue reasons. Lautner's acting skills aren't much to get excited about, but then again, his fans hardly care about his ability to accurately convey any sort of real emotion.
