Storyline
In the US, a child goes missing every 40 seconds. You never think it will happen to you. Until it does. Alone and scared, Karla Dyson (Halle Berry) is unwilling to leave the fate of her son's life in someone else's hands. When she catches a glimpse of the abductors speeding away, she decides to fight back. In a heart pounding race against time, Kate begins a high speed pursuit and will stop at nothing to save her son's life.
Cast: Halle Berry -
Karla Dyson
Sage Correa -
Frankie
Chris McGinn -
Margo
Lew Temple -
Terry
Jason George -
David
(as Jason Winston George)
Christopher Berry -
Bearded Man
Arron Shiver -
Bill
(as Aaron Shiver)
Kurtis Bedford -
Del
Carmella Riley -
Stephanie
Brice Fisher -
Tyler
Jennie Ventriss -
Grandma
Timothy Fannon -
Dad
Andy Wagner -
Dean
Malea Rose -
Claire
Jill Alexander -
Nancy
Trivia:
Both Lew Temple and Christopher Berry appeared in The Walking Dead. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating:
First off, let me just say that I can rarely be bothered to write
reviews on here. The only reason I decided to was due to: 1) lack of
reviews, and most importantly 2) the very few reviews that have been
posted here are so incomprehensively negative that the only explanation
I can come up with was that they had to be shills (which is surprising
to me, as most 'shills' on IMDb are only here to artificially increase
a film's positive reviews).
That being said, I found these these first two negative reviews utterly
baffling. Now I'm no expert film critic, but movies are my number one
passion in life. As such, I've seen so many that I've literally arrived
to the point where I'm thoroughly jaded...so much so that most
everything that I've seen usually leaves me both bored and
uninterested, or at best, mildly amused. Now that I've had my
mini-rant, I'll continue on with my review.
As the title of the film implies, the story is as basic as it gets: a
mother's son gets kidnapped, and said mother stops at nothing to get
him back. From that simple premise (which has been rehashed millions of
times), I began watching this with the expectation that I'll be seeing
one cliché after another, with gratuitous violence and over-blown CGI
and/or cheesy effects mixed in for good measure. I can honestly say
that not only were those expectations overturned, but for the first
time that I can remember, I was literally sat on the edge of my seat
and kept in suspense throughout. That statement may sound generic and
trite, but coming from a jaded cinephile, it becomes a huge compliment.
I never lost interest for a second, and the sheer intensity and
suspense that I felt throughout 'Kidnap' got to the level where I was
actively looking to see how many more minutes was left before it
ended…not because I was bored and wanted to know how much more tedium I
had to suffer, but so that I could tell how much more hell the
protagonist (and by extension, I) had to go through before all the
nail-biting suspense could finally come to an end.
It was a taught cat-and-mouse thriller expertly choreographed, and
Halle Berry's acting was sublime! In fact, I was initially so put-off
by the film's synopsis, I would have passed this over in an instant had
it not been for the fact that Ms Berry was in it! The acting,
cinematography and stunt-work were masterfully crafted in such a way so
as to get you emotionally invested throughout. I think that is why this
film engendered such a visceral reaction whilst watching it. If you
cannot relate to nor care about the characters, the film you're
watching falls flat, and you consequently lose interest very quickly.
Not so with 'Kidnap'. The relatability of Berry's character, plus the
superb job she did with this role, puts you right in the car seat next
to her.
If you are like me, and suffer from the ennui that inevitably comes
from having seen almost every movie ever made, and are looking for the
proverbial 'white knuckle ride' and adrenaline rush, then I cannot
recommend 'Kidnap' strongly enough. In fact, I wouldn't be exaggerating
to say that this is on my top 4 list of films I've seen this year thus
far!
So in a way, I give thanks to the two negative reviewers. Had it not
been for them, I wouldn't have even bothered writing this review!
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