‘Borne’ wannabe

Twilight star Taylor Lautner transforms from a wolf to an action hero struggling to find his real identity.

“Taylor, take off your shirt, please,” said a fellow journalist during the screening of Abduction. It did not take long for the desired scene to come, as the actor, who shot to stardom through his portrayal of werewolf Jacob Black in the Twilight franchise, was shirtless and showing off his muscles and six-pack abs at the beginning of the action film directed by John Singleton.

Filmmakers certainly know how the Taylor Lautner effect has rocked the teenage world.

Successfully stealing the hearts of millions of teenagers around the globe as a werewolf, the 19-year-old heartthrob now spreads his wings in a different genre by playing a regular teen who is accidentally involved in global espionage.

Lautner stars as Nathan Harper, the only son of a happy couple, Kevin (played by Jason Issacs, best known for his stint as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series) and Mara (Maria Bello). Nathan strangely feels that he is not part of the family and he’s not who he thinks he is.

His life completely changes after he stumbles upon a picture of himself as a little boy on a missing persons website, which later reveals his shocking true identity.

His curiosity turns out to be hazardous, as it leads him to a string of dangerous situations that risk his own life and the lives of people he loves.

As he starts to get all puzzle pieces together, Nathan is hunted by armed agents and is forced to flee with the only person he believes he can trust, Karen (Lily Collins), his neighbor, childhood friend and schoolmate.

Nathan later realizes that he is at the center of a deadly global spy game, caught between a team of CIA operatives led by Frank Burton (Alfred Molina) and the bad guy Kozlow (played by Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Both parties aim to approach Nathan to get information out of him, and Nathan finds himself not knowing which side he can trust. If it’s not the poster and the tagline, “The Fight for the Truth Will Be the Fight of His Life,” audiences might mistake this movie for a teen flick.

The film opens with Nathan’s adolescent issues and teen life, including Nathan’s secret crush on the girl-next-door Karen before the real action kicks off around 30 minutes in.

With Pat Crowley (producer of the three Bourne films) as one of the producers, it’s obvious that the production team wanted to make this movie into a Jason Bourne-like product with Lautner as the headliner, including grooming the young actor to be the next Matt Damon or Tom Cruise.

Singleton finds no problem handling action scenes and suspense, as he created a number of full-throttle action flicks such as Four Brothers, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Shaft, but the big deal is on the cast and the portrayal of teen life, which is not actually Singleton’s take.

After being glued to the film for all 106 minutes, it is clear that Mr. Jacob Black should remain in the Forks forest, not on the run with the trained killers on his tail.

The square-jawed actor physically has what an action star is required to have, but his expression throughout Abduction is the same from the Twilight saga, failing to pull the audience into his personal distress and draw our empathy.

The appearance of the charming Lily Collins, who shot to fame after playing in The Blind Side and who is also the daughter of singer Phil Collins, will give teenage boys a good reason to go to the cinema and catch this film even though her character is merely disposable, as she serves no purpose to the story other than to provide a love interest for the leading actor.

Veteran actors Bello, Isaacs, Molina and Sigourney Weaver, who plays Nathan’s psychologist, are as good as ever, but their solid performances do not help the overall movie, as it relies heavily on Lautner.

Verdict: A total teen-fest film dedicated to the Taylor Lautner fan club and all the ladies who want to have another look at his body.

Abduction (106minutes, Lionsgate)

Starring: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Sigourney Weaver, Denzel Whitaker, Michael Nyqvist
Director: John Singleton
Writers: by Shawn Christensen
Producers: Jeremy Bell, Gabriel Mason, Anthony Katagas