The omens did not bode well for "Kidnap," a New Orleans-set action movie in which Halle Berry plays a single mother who stops at nothing to rescue her abducted 6-year-old son. Originally scheduled for a 2015 release and pushed back multiple times, the low-budget film has finally made its way into theaters - but in the doldrums of late summer (a traditional dumping ground for inferior product).
Yet despite limited resources, a well-worn concept and a generic title, director Luis Prieto ("Pusher") has managed to make a surprisingly effective thriller, leveraging the performance of his Oscar-winning star to convert an apparent junker into a lean, mean suspense machine.
The minimalist plot is set into motion when Carla (Berry) takes her son (Sage Correa) to a crowded playground, taking her eyes off him for one moment to handle a phone call about the impending custody battle with her ex-husband, the boy's father. It takes only that moment for a stranger to whisk the boy away in a green 1980s-vintage Ford Mustang GT - a rather odd car choice for would-be kidnappers, especially one without license plates. And yet somehow, this distinctive vehicle escapes the notice of the Louisiana highway patrol, as does the mayhem of the subsequent chase.
Carla decides to pursue her child's abductor, creating havoc with her red minivan. This, in a nutshell, is the whole movie, which suggests, for the most part, a maternal-vigilante answer to Steven Spielberg's 1971 cult classic "Duel," an intensely gripping, made-for-television thriller that pitted motorist Dennis Weaver against a mysteriously aggressive truck driver.
"Kidnap," however, is no "Duel." Straining credulity, it nevertheless works remarkably well, with its minor shifts in tactics and scenery - from boring highway to sinister swampland - providing more than enough nail-biting action. Cinematographer Flavio Martinez Labiano revels in the chase, as if he has been tasked with making a small-scale "Mad Max" movie.
In a way, that's kind of what this is.
The characters are mostly sketchily drawn, with bad guys who are little more than caricatures of rustic bumpkins. But Barry, who also co-produced the movie, carries "Kidnap" with a mix of determination and distress.
At a fleet and efficient 81 minutes - several minutes shorter than its original running time - "Kidnap" is an action movie with barely a wasted frame. By the final act, however, some of those missing minutes seem to have been critical, leaving a few jarring leaps in continuity.
Despite such flaws, "Kidnap" is a solid and economical piece of filmmaking. It just goes to show: A big budget isn't necessary to make a big impression.
The Washington Post
Sun Aug 06 2017
Halle Berry in "Kidnap." Pix Peter Iovino, Aviron Pictures-Relativity Studios
Pesawat Maritim Malaysia bantu padam kebakaran di Miri
Maritim Malaysia telah mengatur gerak pesawat Bombardier CL-415 miliknya, bagi membantu dalam operasi memadamkan kebakaran hutan tanah gambut secara bersepadu.
Polis tahan lelaki bakar mercun di tengah jalan raya
Polis menahan seorang pembantu bengkel yang disyaki membakar mercun di tengah jalan raya, ketika perarakan pengebumian berdekatan sebuah pasar raya di Banting, Selangor, semalam.
NADMA laksana pembenihan awan di Papar, Lahad Datu dan Tawau
Operasi itu dilaksanakan bagi mendapatkan sumber air mencukupi di kawasan tadahan hujan ekoran cuaca panas.
Sultan Selangor berkenan lancar Tabung Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza
Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah hari ini berkenan melancarkan Tabung Pembangunan Ehsan Selangor-Gaza.
PADU: Keraguan pengguna patut menjadi satu mesej yang kerajaan kena faham - Pakar
Masalah itu tercetus akibat kurangnya komunikasi yang cermat dan akhirnya, ia membawa kepada pemahaman yang bersegmen dan kompleks.
Jumlah korban serangan di dewan konsert Rusia meningkat kepada 143
Jumaat lepas, sekumpulan lelaki bersenjata melepaskan tembakan rambang di Dewan Bandaraya Crocus, Krasnogorsk dalam Wilayah Moscow.
Kerjasama dua hala India-Malaysia bergantung kepada kepercayaan, kebolehpercayaan bersama - Menteri Luar
Memupuk kepercayaan dan kebolehpercayaan bersama sebagai asas untuk kerjasama dua hala antara India dan Malaysia adalah sangat penting, kata Menteri Luar India, Dr S. Jaishankar.
AWANI 7:45 [28/03/2024] - 75 peratus pemegang akaun keldai | Sakit mata, sakit hati | Bayar agihan pendapatan | Elak serbuan saat akhir
#AWANI745 malam ini bersama Essan Yahya;
1. Scammer! Dalam tiga bulan, lebih empat ribu ditahan
2. Hati jadi sakit, lambakan kereta terbiar depan rumah... Gempur745 siasat
3. PNB agih pendapatan RM0.67 bilion
4. Tambahan 300 kaunter PADU seluruh negara
1. Scammer! Dalam tiga bulan, lebih empat ribu ditahan
2. Hati jadi sakit, lambakan kereta terbiar depan rumah... Gempur745 siasat
3. PNB agih pendapatan RM0.67 bilion
4. Tambahan 300 kaunter PADU seluruh negara
AWANI Ringkas: Rusuhan di bazar Ramadan
AWANI Ringkas
PM Anwar beri bayangan tiada 'cuti tambahan' sempena sambutan Aidilfitri
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim beri bayangan tiada cuti tambahan diberikan menjelang sambutan Hari Raya Aidilfitri yang dijadual pada 10 April depan.
Halle Berry kesal belum ada wanita kulit hitam ulangi kejayaannya di Oscar
Dua dekad berlalu, Halle Berry masih memegang rekod satu-satunya aktres kulit hitam yang memenangi anugerah Pelakon Wanita Terbaik.
Anugerah Oscar: Barisan pelakon ternama diumumkan sebagai penyampai
Antara nama popular yang didedahkan adalah pelakon Brad Pitt, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford dan Reese Witherspoon.
Halle Berry, Oliver Martinez bercerai
Berry dan Martinez menjelaskan keputusan itu diambil bersama dan hubungan mereka tetap baik demi anak tunggal mereka, Maceo.
Halle Berry bintangi drama selepas 2 dekad
Lebih dua dekad tidak membintangi drama bersiri, Halle Berry akan kembali ke kaca televisyen.
Halle Berry sah hamil anak kedua
Halle Berry, 46 tahun disahkan hamil anak kedua bersama tunangnya, Olivier Martinez.