Director Luis Prieto’s film delivers on its promises, but no more and no less.
When it opens in wide release Friday (Aug. 4) , the Halle Berry action-thriller » Kidnap » will already have beaten the odds. For more than two years, the film — which was shot in New Orleans in late 2014 — has languished unreleased while entangled in the Relativity Media bankruptcy mess.
Finally, all that business-side unpleasantness is now in the rearview. But the job of the film’s makers isn’t over just yet.
Now they’ve got to convince moviegoers that the repeated rescheduling of director Luis Prieto’s film — which has been put on the release calendar, and then fallen off, no fewer than five times in the past two years — is solely the result of corporate struggles and not a reflection of the quality of the film.
That’s no small task; ordinarily, the frequent rescheduling of a movie is a reliable sign of dubious quality. This time, however, it appears to be more the exception than the rule. It’s unimaginative title aside, moviegoers who roll the dice on «Kidnap» will be rewarded with a reasonably tense and sufficiently satisfying ride that nicely ticks all the genre boxes.
The flip side is that it doesn’t really do much to elevate the genre, which means a certain amount of predictability can be expected. But, like Berry’s mostly serviceable 2013 thriller » The Call, » Prieto’s film proves that merely delivering on a film’s promises — even if not quite exceeding them — is often enough.
Also like «The Call, » Prieto’s «Kidnap» makes one thing abundantly clear: You really don’t want to mess with Halle Berry.
In that 2013 film, she played a 911 operator who takes it in her hands to rescue an abducted teen. «Kidnap» is, for the most part, a variation on that theme — telling the story of an ordinary woman forced to do extraordinary things. This time, though, there’s less «Sherlock Holmes» involved and more «Speed.»
In «Kidnap, » Berry plays a single mother who, after having her young son (a cute Sage Correa) kidnapped from under her nose — and realizing that waiting for the police might mean she never sees her child again — launches into a desperate, and extended, high-speed pursuit of the boy’s abductors (Lew Temple and Chris McGinn, both suitably creepy) .
What follows is a real-time high-speed chase that sees Berry and company covering any number of local highways, as she is determined not to let her son out of her sight while simultaneously trying to figure out a way to summon police to help. (Wisely, the script dispenses with her cellphone early on, otherwise the movie would be a 15-minute short film.)
Oh, and a word to the nitpickers out there: Please resist the urge to demonstrate your knowledge of local roadways by pointing out the geographic inconsistencies of «Kidnap.» Yes, Berry will be driving through Belle Chasse one minute and Slidell the next. Get over it. This is a movie, not a road atlas.
Try also not to think about all the grave injuries Berry undoubtedly leaves in her wake as she careens through traffic, causing crash after crash. (According to producer Joey Tufaro, the production crashed a «Dukes of Hazard»-like 85 vehicles, including seven versions of the minivan driven by Berry in the film.) In real life, one would have to think she would be facing all kinds of legal woes by the time the closing credits roll, kidnapping or no.
But then, as is the case with geographic honesty, nobody really expects — or requires — Vulcan-like logic from a thrill-ride movie such as this.
Pacing, however, is a different story, and that’s one of the strengths of «Kidnap.» Once the action starts, it rarely lets up. Both the script and Berry’s earnest performance get at least some of the credit for that, but mostly you can thank film editor Avi Youabian, who also handled duties on «The Call» and who contributes a similarly workmanlike effort here.
None of that is to say that «Kidnap» is a perfect movie by any stretch. In addition to its predictabilities, it’s got its share of frustrating moments in which Berry’s character makes infuriatingly dumb decisions. («Don’t get out of the car!» «Don’t put down the gun!» «Don’t go in THERE!») Of course, that’s often part of the fun, especially if you’re seeing the film with a nice-sized crowd.
With the bulk of the film set behind the wheel of Berry’s trusty minivan, it does all begin to feel a little confined after a while. Fortunately, just about the exact moment it starts to feel as if that behind-the-wheel element is dragging things down — right about the two-thirds mark — Berry leaves the road behind and «Kidnap» switches gears for a sturdy and intense third act.
Granted, that third act feels suspiciously as if a major twist has been edited out. Still, it all works well enough.
The bottom line is that, while «Kidnap» isn’t without its hiccups, it’s another fun bit of Berry badassery — and certainly better than the film’s rocky history to this point might suggest.
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KIDNAP 3 stars, out of 5
Snapshot: Halle Berry stars in an action-thriller about a single mother who takes it upon herself to rescue her young son after he is kidnapped from a New Orleans park.
What works: It boasts a nice sense of pacing, and Berry is well-suited to this sort of role, in which an ordinary woman is forced to do extraordinary things.
What doesn’t: It’s pure genre stuff. As such, it isn’t without its predictable moments, as well as repeated dumb decisions on the part of Berry’s main character.
Cast: Berry, Sage Correa, Lew Temple, Chris McGinn. Director: Luis Prieto. MPAA rating: R, for violence and peril.
