The taglines for the movie 'Kidnap' are "Vengeance is a mother" and "They messed with the wrong mother". I really wish they would change or adapt these because they imply a different type of film to what this actually is. To me those scream of a film like 'The Brave One', 'Taken' or 'Deathwish' where revenge is the motivating factor. That couldn't be further from the case. This is actually quite a grounded story about a desperate mother who will do whatever it takes to get her child back. Misleading taglines aside, it is quite a good film.
It's the pacing that really makes this film tick along. It really does grab you by the proverbials early and then never lets you go. You are in for the ride along with the mother and you genuinely care about the outcome for these characters. There are a few pieces of ill-advised writing, where character's decisions are questionable at best, however it has to be said it is very hard to avoid any of those at all in a film like this and still have 94 minutes of action.
Halle Berry is good in the lead role. Something I've noticed about her is that she is a much better actress when her character is under duress. When she is just being a regular person and asked to act normally she comes across quite clunky and you remember why she won a Razzie. Give her character some drama to work with though and you quickly remember why she also won an Oscar.
'Kidnap' is a good little thriller with excellent pacing, decent acting and more than enough going on to justify an hour and a half of your time. Give it a look.
