“ABDUCTION” GRIPPING

ABDUCTION

Starring Taylor Lautner,

Lily Collins,

Denzel Whitaker,

Jason Isaacs,

Maria Bello,

Alfred Molina,

Sigourney Weaver

Directed by John Singleton

Written by Shawn Christensen

Running time 106 mins.

Rated PG-13

          Plays like a modern teenage myth.

          Guaranteed I’m the only one who will call the Taylor Lautner film “Abduction” a myth, so I’ll go even further: It’s a father quest myth. A search for identity.

          Upshot: In his last year of high school, a young dude (Lautner) writing a class report learns that his parents aren’t actually his parents after all, and finds himself running for his life with the girl across the street (Collins).

          Ah, the mysterious birth of the hero. From Theseus to Luke Skywalker, it’s essential for the young princeling to discover the true nobility of his birth. The story’s as old as the hills, and in this fresh retelling social media pervade. Cell phones are today’s light sabers.

          This movie has some serious surprises, and the biggest one is how well Lautner can act. I have zero use for “Twilight”–actively I do not like shiny vampires–but that franchise has no bearing on the talent of at least two of its stars. Earlier this year, Robert Pattinson shone in “Water for Elephants,” and here Taylor Lautner delivers an equally credible, if not exceptional, performance.

          Ditto for the dude who plays Lucius Malfoy. Jason Isaacs is almost unrecognizable as the kid’s dad. I’ve seen that guy in a few other roles, and I think this is his best work yet. You’d never guess the guy’s British, that’s for sure.

          And to top it all off, Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina. Now that’s a cast.

          At times it feels like “Romeo and Juliet” meets “North by Northwest.” Those are pretty much the times during the train sequence. Young love on the lam. Big ugly old people chasing the little pretty young ones around, trying to catch them and smash them. This movie has everything.

          Well, within reason. A more innovative film would star Alfred Molina as a guy who knows all about his parents, yet gets chased around by mysterious young people trying to kill him. Then in a pinch he discovers he knows kung fu! Just brainstorming, I’m seeing Molina as a movie reviewer here....