Kidnap (I) (2017) User Reviews (414)

Man did the writers take the easy way out on this one...

[jgeurtsen · 5/10 · 1 September 2017]

I love action movies without aliens and superheroes so I was exited to see this movie where Halle Berry goes all out in her attempts to safe her kid.

The base of the story isn't that bad but oh how I hate it when writers can't come up with logical behavior even in high pressure situations.

With a little bit more creativity this actually could have been a very decent movie, but they took the easy way and at times it just was annoying how the story developed.

So a big disappointment.

Suspend belief, and you'll enjoy.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 28 July 2019]

I wouldn't put this in the thriller category, I'd put in more in the fantasy line, as you genuinely so need to forget all sense of reality.

The pluses definitely outweigh the negatives, the main body of the film is somewhat thrilling, the car chase and kidnap scenes will have you on tenterhooks.

However it is dogged by several issues, the main one being the lack of any police, if it had been set in the 1950's I could understand, but in the days of CCTV, I struggle to understand how any of the events were even remotely possible. The opening credits went on for way too long, and throughout you will continually say to yourself, that would never happen.

Halle Berry is good, she's been dogged by some poor films, but she's never stopped being a very good actress.

If you can overlook its many flaws, you'll enjoy it.

A Good Performance From Miss. Berry

[yawael · 5/10 · 27 August 2017]

This is perhaps one of the few good films that Miss,Berry delivered to the big screen after her Oscar back at the 2001 along side ( the Call 2014 & Perfect Stranger 2007).

The movie isn't that great, but it had a lot of tension that make your eyes open the whole film, because the whole film is about chasing the kidnappers by Mom who want to bring her own son back no matter what.

Halle Berry's performance here is very powerful and to me one of few reason that saved this film, her emotion, reaction of regular mother who turns to be a fighter just to save her kid even if she was going to die is so believable and convincing ( the only actress in recent years that gave me same feeling of a real mother was Angelina Jolie in Changeling 2008), Halle Berry really deserve nominations for this unforgettable performance.

Now to the bad Side of this film:

• The major issue of this film that it had almost the same story line of The Call 2013 which had the same subject which is (kidnapping), even the story line is so identical ( both films start with cars and both end by watching Berry going to the kidnapper house and save the victim) the only different thing was in the call Berry rescue a teenager girl, while here she saves her own child.

• The second thing is the chasing i mean all this accidents while she was chasing the kidnapper and no one saw that, no single police car or police announcements even a police man was killed, a girl hit by a car and a lots of damaged cars. ( it made me wonder if she was chasing them in another planet, Pluto perhaps ! )

_ Another terrible mistake was the Diesel , at the half of the film they show us that there is a little of Diesel left, nevertheless she continues to drive for almost 20 minutes later !!!

At the end It's a good film if you are looking to entertain yourself at the weekend in the cinema, and if you're a Halle Berry Fan who wants to see your star at her best.

Awesome Thrill Ride!

[david6995 · 19 May 2017]

First off, let me just say that I can rarely be bothered to write reviews on here. The only reason I decided to was due to: 1) lack of reviews, and most importantly 2) the very few reviews that have been posted here are so incomprehensively negative that the only explanation I can come up with was that they had to be shills (which is surprising to me, as most 'shills' on IMDb are only here to artificially increase a film's positive reviews).

That being said, I found these these first two negative reviews utterly baffling. Now I'm no expert film critic, but movies are my number one passion in life. As such, I've seen so many that I've literally arrived to the point where I'm thoroughly jaded...so much so that most everything that I've seen usually leaves me both bored and uninterested, or at best, mildly amused. Now that I've had my mini-rant, I'll continue on with my review.

As the title of the film implies, the story is as basic as it gets: a mother's son gets kidnapped, and said mother stops at nothing to get him back. From that simple premise (which has been rehashed millions of times), I began watching this with the expectation that I'll be seeing one cliché after another, with gratuitous violence and over-blown CGI and/or cheesy effects mixed in for good measure. I can honestly say that not only were those expectations overturned, but for the first time that I can remember, I was literally sat on the edge of my seat and kept in suspense throughout. That statement may sound generic and trite, but coming from a jaded cinephile, it becomes a huge compliment.

I never lost interest for a second, and the sheer intensity and suspense that I felt throughout 'Kidnap' got to the level where I was actively looking to see how many more minutes was left before it ended…not because I was bored and wanted to know how much more tedium I had to suffer, but so that I could tell how much more hell the protagonist (and by extension, I) had to go through before all the nail-biting suspense could finally come to an end.

It was a taught cat-and-mouse thriller expertly choreographed, and Halle Berry's acting was sublime! In fact, I was initially so put-off by the film's synopsis, I would have passed this over in an instant had it not been for the fact that Ms Berry was in it! The acting, cinematography and stunt-work were masterfully crafted in such a way so as to get you emotionally invested throughout. I think that is why this film engendered such a visceral reaction whilst watching it. If you cannot relate to nor care about the characters, the film you're watching falls flat, and you consequently lose interest very quickly. Not so with 'Kidnap'. The relatability of Berry's character, plus the superb job she did with this role, puts you right in the car seat next to her.

If you are like me, and suffer from the ennui that inevitably comes from having seen almost every movie ever made, and are looking for the proverbial 'white knuckle ride' and adrenaline rush, then I cannot recommend 'Kidnap' strongly enough. In fact, I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that this is on my top 4 list of films I've seen this year thus far!

So in a way, I give thanks to the two negative reviewers. Had it not been for them, I wouldn't have even bothered writing this review!

Underrated thriller

[Luigi Di Pilla · 7/10 · 13 November 2017]

The trailer and the story convinced me so far that I had to buy this DVD. And I didn't regret it because it is a real nail biter that took even my breath away until the end. Halle Berry was perfect in this so emotional mother role. Kidnap is one of the rare movies that is better than all other average or bad movies that came out this year. If you want to spend a suspense evening give this a chance. Together with my wife I give a solid 7/10. If you like this genre of films don't miss Trapped or Panic Room.

A modern-day Duel

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 5 May 2018]

As an undemanding thriller, I found KIDNAP a lot of fun and a lot better than the reviews I previously read led me to believe. It's one of the many interesting films that Netflix are making themselves today and in the process giving traditional Hollywood films a run for their money. The film stars Halle Berry as a determined mother who snaps into action when her child is kidnapped, forcing her into a cross-country pursuit to rescue him. The structure is a little like a modern-day DUEL, without the same kind of suspense, although there's plenty of momentum to see this one through. I found Berry's acting somewhat limited and histrionic at times, and it doesn't help that the script gives her the dumbest lines to recite, literally spoon-fed "explain the plot" moments. On the plus side, there are nice little turns for Lew Temple and Christopher Berry, both of THE WALKING DEAD, and the cinematography is quite nice, particularly in the many and varied car chase moments.

Annoyingly lazy writing

[lord_orsum · 4/10 · 31 July 2020]

Let's start with the good points; the premise is fine, and the initial scenes are well done. Halle Berry delivers a solid performance throughout, which essentially saves the movie. However, the writing is terrible. Frustratingly, infuriatingly lazy writing. The movie contains so many situations where you find yourself shouting at the screen "What??? Why didn't you...(insert sensible course of action)". The answer is, of course, that if her character did that, the movie would be over in the next 5 minutes. My particular favourite was her inexplicably abandoning the shotgun while in the kidnappers house. There is some entertainment to be had here, but you may come away just feeling annoyed at the sheer stupidity on display.

A solid little thriller that is different than what you might expect

[jtindahouse · 7/10 · 1 June 2017]

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.

Poor. Really poor.

[neil-476 · 4/10 · 8 September 2018]

Single mother waitress Halle Berry finally takes her son to the park after a series of improbably awful customers. While she is taking a horrible call from her lawyer about her ex challenging for custody, her son is kidnapped. She sees him being put into a highly distinctive-looking car and gives chase. None of the initial set-up has any relevance to what follows.

My daughter and I are actually watching this as I type. We are stunned at how utterly awful it is, unbelievable from start to finish. When Berry is taking the lawyer's call in the park, she has a call - Marco! - and answerback - Polo! - system with her son, but she has her back to him! Would you simply walk away and never look at your child? Especially after having spent lengthy periods dangerously turning round and looking at him in the back seat while you are driving?

Thankfully Ms Berry spends a lot of the film sitting alone in the car talking to herself telling us what's going on, otherwise we'd never know that she's chasing a car with her son in it (sarcasm mode: off).

This film is in focus, the camera is usually steady, and the sound is well recorded. That's about it as far as good points are concerned. Ms Berry does the best she can with a script/story which is, frankly, one of the worst I have ever encountered for a film of this nature.

Make no mistake, this film is very, very bad.

It's Certainly Quite A Ride!

[sddavis63 · 7/10 · 17 November 2017]

You have to watch this movie if only for the car chase - which seems to take up at least two thirds of the screen time! This is kind of a comeback movie for Halle Berry, who hasn't really done very much in recent years. In "Kidnap" she plays Karla - a waitress who's involved in a custody dispute with her ex over their 6 year old son. After finishing work one day, Karla takes young Frankie to an amusement park, and he vanishes. Finally she catches a glimpse of him being forced into a green car - and the chase begins. And it's certainly a wild chase. Yes - wild to the point of unbelievable, but nevertheless a lot of fun to watch. The chase is wild and suspenseful and even frightening at times. It leads up to another pretty suspenseful encounter with the kidnappers at their home.

Berry did pretty well with the part. To be honest, she's the only cast member of any real significance, so a bad performance from her would have made this unbearable. But she did well enough with the part.

You know right from the start that little Frankie is going to be kidnapped, and there are a couple of points early in the movie that lead you to suspect one or another as responsible for the kidnapping. And, in the end, there's no way to predict the discovery Karla would make at the kidnappers' home.

It's a pretty unbelievable film. The writing isn't all that great, but then again in a largely one person cast there's not a lot of dialogue necessary. The car chase and the scenes at the house are enough to keep you watching. I certainly wouldn't call this a great movie - but it's fast paced and entertaining and suspenseful. Well worth watching. (7/10)

SEVEN production companies thought this was a good script?

[Wizard-8 · 3/10 · 10 August 2019]

Well... I will first give credit where credit is due. I will admit that despite the many flaws to be found, I was never bored once during my viewing experience. And I will also admit that Halle Berry gives it her all, and certainly deserves an "A" for her great effort. Unfortunately, Berry is often required to spout dialogue (when no one else is around) that feels quite contrived and makes you think that the filmmakers thought the audience would be too stupid to figure out what her character was thinking and feeling if she was silent. A bigger problem is that there many moments where her character does some really stupid things that just extend the situation instead of finishing things much sooner had her character had some basic smartness. For that matter, the bad guys (and also some other characters) do their part to act stupid enough so that they stretch out the narrative as well. Had the movie's characters been of reasonable intelligence, we might possibly have had something here. But as it is, the movie is not that much better than silently watching a blank wall for 95 minutes.

Well worth watching: Don't believe the poor ratings!

[mrcowsigan · 9/10 · 16 September 2017]

I was hesitant to watch the movie with all the low ratings it received by other reviewers, I'm glad that I didn't believe all the reviews.

The first 5 to 10 minutes of the movie is slow, but it moves quickly thereafter and reaches the climax shortly after.

My wife is not a huge movie goer, has very little patience, and movies generally can't keep her attentive for too long; but, this movie had her sitting at the edge of her seat.

This movie has very little talking throughout, as such, it would take an extraordinary actor to keep the audience engrossed. Halle Berry, in the lead role, does an amazing job by expressing her feelings through believable emotions. The movie takes place mainly in high-speed car sequences, that are well shot, highly effective, and kept an avid movie goer like myself, interested.

The movie is by far well worth watching, and deserves a rating of at least 7, but since so many gave it a low rating that it doesn't deserve -I will give it a 9.

This movie really goes to show... don't believe all of the reviews, sometimes you just have to watch it for yourself and decide! Cheers

Excellent Movie!!!!

[pnflhrt · 7/10 · 30 May 2017]

This movie had my interest when I saw the trailer a while back. It's simple but INTENSE! It had me on the edge of my seat after the first 5 minutes and kept my attention to the very end. Halle's performance was amazing and she brought you into the character of the desperation a mother would feel in the movie situation.

Truly an amazing movie I'd watch again and add to my collection. Please see the movie before you write any negative reviews. Way to go Halle!

This is the worst movie I've seen in 10 years

[matty-j-1 · 1/10 · 11 June 2017]

Not really even sure where to start. We'll go through the low points blow by blow.

Storyline - there isn't one. The entire plot makes no sense, and is so ridiculous as to have you laughing out loud for most of the movie. Yeah kid gets kidnapped and mother will stop at nothing to get him back. Seen that before. But what you've not seen is the utter drivel they come up with in this movie. Utter garbage dressed up as some kind of action. It's the worst story I've seen in as long as I can remember. I haven't even got to the end yet, and I'm writing this.

Acting - woeful beyond belief. Halle Berry would have to have been utterly desperate to get involved with this garbage. Minutes of talking to herself about how she won't let her kid go, all while in the middle of a car chase. Obviously the part is written and there's not much she can do about the story line, but unless she needs the money, she'd just walk away. No idea why she's even involved.

Action - appalling. 'High-speed' stunts filmed at about 5km/h, then sped up to seem faster. Non-sensical action scenes that add nothing other than further ridicule to this movie.

Cinematography - I can't say I've ever seen anything as laughably appalling as this. During the 'high-speed' chases, we get minutes worth of tyre-going-around footage, interspersed with minutes of yellow lines on the road. We get it - they're driving.

Overall this movie is atrocious and simply not worth your time. Unless you want to spend a couple hours yelling at the TV to get her to actually do something towards getting her son back. Abysmal, appalling, ghastly garbage.

A Mess of a Thriller

[BigZ_7337 · 6/10 · 2 August 2017]

This is a pretty bad film that can be enjoyed at times. It's incredibly one note, with almost the whole movie being Halle Berry chasing after white trash kidnappers in her mini-van. Having a mom chase after people that kidnapped her kid is an interesting idea, but I just needed more from the movie. It was also very sloppily filmed and edited, even when the car chases or fight scenes were starting to be enjoyable. Kidnap is not a good film, but at the same time it's not bad enough to be enjoyable in that way. Perhaps it's a side effect of being in limbo for so long when the studio that made it collapsed, but it feels like the movie could have been better.

I definitely wouldn't recommend it, but if you see it randomly some time on TV in the future, you could have a little bit of fun with it. If you want to see my full video review you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYQlLhnzpM0

"Kidnap" is an emotional and fast-paced thriller.

[dave-mcclain · 7/10 · 1 August 2017]

Child abduction. That's the subject of the 2017 thriller "Kidnap" (R, 1:34) – and it really is every parent's worst nightmare. The bad news is that about 800,000 children are abducted each year in the U.S. alone. The good news is that 97% of those kids are recovered. (Both statistics come from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.) But if it's your child who has been abducted, statistics are irrelevant. This issue suddenly becomes very, very personal. You may ask, "Who could do such a thing?". The unfortunate answer is many different kinds of people for many different reasons. Family members may abduct a child in order to separate him/her from a parent, often as part of a custody disagreement. When a stranger kidnaps a child, it can be for any of a number of reasons, including (according to Wikipedia) extortion (ransom), illegal adoption (for the kidnapper to raise the child as his/her own or to or to sell the child to someone else), human trafficking / exploitation (slavery, forced labor, sexual abuse, illegal organ trading), or, because the abductor simply intends to murder the child. Of course, at the moment a child is taken, the reason isn't nearly as important to the parent as getting the child back safe and sound. That's the situation Halle Berry's character finds herself in for most of this movie. Now, since my reviews don't contain spoilers, I won't reveal why her child was kidnapped (although I'll admit that it is for one of the reasons above) or how it all turns out, but I will say that it's all very dramatic.

Karla Dyson (Berry) is a struggling single mother. She's working as a waitress and raising her 6-year-old son, Frankie (Sage Correa). Karla is separated from her husband and dreading a custody battle that seems to be just around the corner. One fine Louisiana day when she gets off work, she takes her son to a public park, where there's some sort of carnival going on. After watching Frankie enjoy the playground for a while, Karla takes him to see an outdoor magic show. When she gets a phone call from her lawyer, she steps away from her seat to talk to him, but looks over her shoulder repeatedly to check on Frankie. When she finishes her call and returns to her seat, Frankie is missing. After calling out to him several times, she begins a frantic search of the area, but can't find anyone who has seen her son. Then, she sees him. In the parking lot, Karla catches a glimpse of someone shoving the boy into an old Mustang.

Karla is as emotional and tenacious as you would expect a mother in her situation to be. She runs after the kidnapper's car as it starts to drive away, hanging onto the car as long as she could (and losing her cell phone in the process). Then, Karla jumps in her minivan and begins desperately chasing the abductor's car. She chases it through city streets and on a highway, but has to make an impossible choice when someone in the Mustang rolls down the window, points at the exit and holds a knife to Frankie's throat. No matter what happens and what Frankie's kidnapper does, Karla refuses to give up her pursuit. Further threats to the boy's safety, car crashes, a motorcycle cop who misreads the situation, a dangerous confrontation with the kidnapper, an errant AMBER Alert, running out of gas, an understaffed police station… none of it stops this determined mother, until the film's twisted ending.

"Kidnap" is an exciting and emotional thriller. The action is virtually non-stop, with some big surprises along the way. The screenplay by Knate Gwaltney (better known as Knate Lee, writer of… "Bad Grandpa"!) and the direction of Luis Pietro (2012's "Pusher") give us a creative combination of the "Fast and the Furious" movies and 1997's under-appreciated "Breakdown". Halle (who is one of the film's producers) gives us the vulnerability and panicked intensity that she brought to the similarly-themed 2013 thriller "The Call". Of course, this time the child abduction is much more personal to her character as a mother than as a 9-1-1 operator, but she appropriately amps up her performance to match the situation. Unfortunately, the supporting actors aren't very good, nor is the dialog, featuring lines like "you took the wrong kid", isn't especially strong, but the movie's plot points, action and acting make for a harrowing, but rewarding cinematic experience. "B+"

I'm quite disappointed

[segungates · 2/10 · 26 June 2017]

I normally wouldn't write a spoiler for a review, but I find it necessary to pick this movie apart piece by piece 'cos the story was a load of Bull. First of all, I'm not sure which pisses me off more, the script writer that left so many holes in the story or the main character which Halle Berry played quite well. Suffice to say, while I find Halle's acting to be believable, I find the personality of the character she played quite confusing and unappealing. I really couldn't help disliking her and her choices from the beginning of the movie till the very end. I thought, "well, how stupid can she get" every five minutes. And here is why.

1. Why didn't she slam into the kidnappers' car when she had the chance at the stop light? I would think adrenaline was pumping at that moment the incidence just occurred and some more desperate howbeit reckless attempt would have been made to recover the boy.

2. It took her so long to get on the phone and call the cops while chasing the car that had her son. Really?! And don't tell us she lost her phone. All you need to do to attract the police in all 50 states is to rear end or side swipe a few cars and keep going. They will do the calling for you. She didn't as much as bash any other vehicle during the first half of the "desperate" chase.

3. She was driving like my granny.

4. The scene where a cop on a motorcycle attempted to pull her over was just so silly. All she had to was keep going when the cop asked her to pull over till he called it in and had other cops on the chase. well, another scene that made this character seem like an idiot.

5. So she offered up her financial instruments and didn't think to keep the pin as bargaining chip till she was at the point of ensuring an exchange then went ahead to let the kidnapper into her car... Not beside her, behind her. Then drove to a secluded highway. Why on earth would the kidnapper that has your son, your cards, your pin, keep you alive when the only thing keeping you from reporting the cards stolen is being alive? Is this character just daft or these is how people actually react when they are in crisis?

6. She overpowers and throws out a woman twice her size, positioned behind her while she is driving and being strangled at the same time out of a moving mini-van. All the while with door closed. The only script allowed to have that sort of impractical scenario is a James Bond movie. Absolutely unbelievable. The woman also came into her vehicle with no phones on her with which to alert her "boyfriend" when she was tossed from the car?

7. She actually stopped a stranger from getting run over by putting her vehicle between said stranger and a car about to run him over at a time she had the option of intercepting the kidnapper about to get away with her son. I believe natural instinct is self preservation before all else except a person has specific training to react otherwise in those circumstances. When i saw this scene, it didn't make her out to be a hero to me, I just felt she must not be trying to save her son.

8. It took her almost an hour into the movie after driving Miss Daisy behind the kidnappers for her to realize she could rear end the car... guess what? Right about the time the car was running empty on gas. *roll my eyes*

9. The kidnappers were painted not as newbies, but repeat offenders who did this for a living. Well, it didn't look like it. If they were pros, they had every opportunity to take the boy across state lines while the mum was taking a "cruise" around town.

10. Then there is the question of how the boy made it from the car with the male kidnapper to the house where the kids were being kept. One moment, the boy is in the car with the male kidnapper being chased by the mum in distress, the next moment, the mum is asking "where is my son?" and she's fishing for an ID on the kidnapper's lifeless body. #Sheish!

11. Kidnappers' Den. She sees a sawn off shotgun lying on a table and she leaves it. Really?! She's anti-gun?

12. The boat ploy was also dumb. If she could fool the woman, she couldn't fool a dog for a second. The dog would have gone for the water immediately and started barking not after she had fired off a few rounds into an empty boat which un-propelled was able to move away from a powerful flashlight that fast? Errmmm! Really?

So I guess the only thing you could consider smart about the main character was the fact that she was able to pick up on the "neighbour's" lie? Psssssh!

The main character was not properly developed and profiled. First acting conservative and unsure of what to do then later switching to aggressive, alpha personality. Every other thing that occurred in this plot was pure luck and stupidity on the kidnappers part. Well, I didn't see any well calculated attempt at recovering the child. The script is weak and empty. So thumbs down. I lost empathy for her and felt like smacking a head all though the movie maybe to knock a little sense into her. She should be loosing custody after this episode.

Effective and nail-biting thriller with frantic action , car chases , intriguing events and nice acting

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 25 October 2021]

Karla Dyson (Halle Berry) is a a diner waiter who takes her son Frankie (Sage Correa) to the local carnival. Upon entering, she temporarily leaves her son, in order to take an important phone call. Then the kid suddenly disappears . Alone and scared, Karla is unwilling to leave the fate of her son's life in someone else's hands. When she catches a glimpse of the kidnappers speeding away , she decides to fight back. In an overwhelming pursuit , Karla begins driving her car in high speed and will stop at nothing , and , at whatever cost , to save her son's life against the nasty abductors . Vengeance is a Mother .They messed with the wrong mother .In the US, a child goes missing every 40 seconds. You never think it will happen to you. Until it does.

An entertaining and dynamic film with adrenalitic action , thrills , breathtaking car chases with noisy crashes , twits and turns . It sounds like it has potential but it's really fun for the most part ; standing out Berry's style of acting and she gets way too much screen time here. This is a great little thriller , it moves along well with an exciting story about a mother stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son for a heart pounding race against time. Halle Berry may have overacted on a couple of occasions but her attractiveness keeps the movie interesting . Overall, this is a great little thriller and the last 20 minutes are extremely thrilling and suspenseful. The film becomes a battle of wits of sorts between Berry and the bad guys , with pretty little boy trapped in the middle , though the villain characters are never developed beyond the most basic . There's certainly a good film scattered throughout here ; however , the main problem with Kidnap (2017) results to be that it's all been done before and done better . Stars the Oscarized Halle Berry , this big Hollywood star delivers an excellent interpretation , though overacting at times . After his successsful acting in The Call (2013) , Berry made this similar thriller about kidnaps , here Halle gives a terrific but likeness performance to previous film . The movie got problems to its initial exhibition , due to the production company went bankrupt , that's why the film delayed its premiere two years .

It displays and thrilling and moving musical score by the Argentinean Federico Jusid who formerly composed the Oscarized The secret in their eyes . As well as adequate and atmospheric cinematography by the Basque Flavio Martinez Labiano who previously photographed Timecrimes . The motion picture was well directed by the Spanish Luis Pietro . This craftsman has made an interesting career , he often works for Television making episodes of notorious series ,such as : The Oath , White Lines , StartUp , Black Code , The Snatch , Z Nation , and occasionally for cinema , such as : Pusher , Ho voglia di tev, Condon Express , among others . Rating 6.5/10 . The flick will appeal to Halle Berry fans . Worthwhile watching .

One of the worst movies I've seen

[skylerderidder-40526 · 1/10 · 16 August 2017]

I've never yelled at a movie more than this. I literally made an account to tell anyone how bad this film is. No one acts like this if their kid is taken, she doesn't hit the car, she doesn't hit the people that took her kid. She had multiple chances to do so. Whoever wrote this script and directed this movie should never be able to work on a set ever again.

One Incredible Hero

[lavatch · 7/10 · 10 January 2018]

There is one moment in "Kidnap" where the unassuming waitress, Karla Dyson (Halle Berry), asks her little boy Frankie and some other children to "play the quiet game." This is only one scene where the quick-thinking Karla is able to outfox some nefarious criminals and to rescue her beloved Frankie from their clutches.

The film is primarily driven by action, as opposed to character. Thus, the majority of the narrative consists of a sustained, daredevil car chase sequence in which Karla pursues the kidnappers of young Frankie. Karla had only left the child unattended for a brief stretch of time at the Louisiana carnival and even played her "Marco Polo" game to ensure that Frankie was within the sound of her voice.

But Karla had to take a phone call privately from her divorce attorney. Yet that tiny window of opportunity provided the nefarious Terrence Fickey with the time to kidnap Frankie. The nefarious villains are Fickey, his stout wife, and perhaps other hardened criminals involved in a child abduction ring.

Early in the film, Karla encourages her young son to eat his vegetables. For Karla, "it makes us invincible." Based on her heroic actions, she may be right about the veggies!

But the film raises a question that goes well beyond dietary issues. Karla had no trust in the authorities to locate her kidnapped boy. As portrayed in the film, the police were incompetent on multiple counts: failing to locate the correct red minivan; slow response to an Amber Alert; poor judgment on the part of a motorcycle cop; and overall sluggishness in responding to the desperate mother. There may be cases where "civilian pursuit" is more effective than trusting in loyal officials and authorities. Beyond serving as a vehicle for Miss Berry, the film may offer not only a good amount of suspense, but also an important theme to consider.

This is just an awful film with just horrible writing (spoilers)

[steve-679-850526 · 1/10 · 4 September 2017]

I saw this because I like Halley Berry movies and figured that this would be another good movie. I was horribly wrong.

The plot has too many holes and makes no sense whatsoever.

After many miles of "chasing" the kidnappers she finally thinks to ram into them once her van is almost out of gas? Did she think to do this when they were stuck in traffic or while surrounded by cars on the highway? Or maybe when there was a cop following her?

Nope, she waits until they are on a deserted road.

When the kidnapper comes after her with a shotgun, where does the genius hide? In her mini van with wrap around windows. Good thing the bad guy decides not to shoot out the glass and shoot her.

Finally we get near the end of this horrible movie and the woman kidnapper sicks a dog on the Halley Berry and her kid. Somehow after killing the kidnapper the dog mysteriously disappears and never shows up again.

Possibly the dog was as board with this movie as the audience and simply gave up to do something better.

These are not the only horrible parts of the movie, but the most glaring.

It's an hour and half of my life that I wish that I could get back. Do not be fooled by the positive reviews, this is a horrible movie and should be skipped.

Don't listen to the negative reviews! This movie is fantastic

[hlextensions · 10/10 · 26 August 2018]

I'm baffled as to why there are bad reviews! I was close to a panic attack while watching this, had to pause and take some deep breaths. I think the bad reviews are from people who don't have children. If you have children, you will feel every emotion that mother went through. It was action packed and intense. Acting was outstanding, yeah there were a few cheesy lines from Ms Berry but hey this was her script and her character. Definitely a 10 out of 10 from me

my notes

[FeastMode · 6/10 · 25 July 2019]

Very suspenseful and kept me into it throughout, rooting for the main character. never bored. pleasantly unpredictable for the most part. lots of dumb stuff but mostly forgivable if you're just looking for mindless entertainment. one funny thing was that she kept talking to herself. i think ppl too often make fun of a character talking to themselves, sometimes i talk to myself, aka thinking out loud. i think a lot of ppl do it. but this movie took it to another level. she was almost narrating at times. forgivable but funny. there were some negatively impacting talk-out-loud moments, but they were specifically ones that were used to explain what is happening to the audience, when the majority of the time it is so clear without any need for an explanation. like instead of saying "i'm out of ammo," just show the gun click. i was also pleased that there weren't any glaring questionable decisions (1 viewing)

SPOILERS

(continued) until the end where there were two really bad ones. i almost dropped it to 2.5, but i just had a good feeling about the movie when it was over. i was entertained.

the questionable decisions were: so halle's character seems pretty smart the whole movie, making some great decisions throughout (with some leeway for desperation). but at the end when she called the police and found her son in the barn. the lady came back, and she decides to make a ton of noise to break the pipe so her son can climb down. WHY!? the cops are on the way. tell the kids to stay quiet, and hide until the cops come. so simple, minimal risk, minimal danger. no, instead lets break this pipe, let the lady know we're here so she can bring her shotgun to try to kill me, all so i can hug my kid and may try to run into open fields. like wtf. it made me pretty mad since i thought they did well in this area to this point. i tried justifying it by saying she was so emotional that nothing would stop her from holding her kid, but i couldn't. she risked her life and the lives of the 3 kids when she had basically won already. shame on you movie. not the character, the writers.

then this was also really dumb, but kind of irrelevant, you could have taken it out and the movie would have been unchanged, probably better. the neighbor comes in with a shotgun all suspicious, he's in on it but pretends to be oblivious. then when he hears the kids, he puts down his shotgun and tries to bring them down. huh??? for what purpose. kill the lady.... like whaaaaaa? i'm so confused. he slips up showing he knows it's 2 girls and she hits him with a shovel. also why not pick up his shotgun instead of the shovel? lol. maybe it should be 2.5

Unfortunately Really Bad

[john-1860 · 1/10 · 11 June 2017]

Warning Spoilers!

This main character is so damn stupid. Beyond any reasonable logic. When she had a chance to kill the man who took her son, she didn't.

When it's time for some cool stunt driving scenes, the highway is full of cars. Other times when she is just following the kidnappers car, there isn't a single car on the entire highway or 10 minutes!

It's just to aggravating to watch a lead character who makes such stupid decisions just to further the film. The stupidity continues throughout the film.

I wish someone would have kidnapped me before I started to watch this film. Avoid it.

A mother will do anything!

[jouleZ · 7/10 · 10 October 2022]

I don't understand why I see many negative reviews on this film. I know this film, Kidnap is not a very unique story, where a mom has to save her son from being kidnapped.

I am no critic but hey, come on! It's not just because it's Halle Berry but we all know that any mother would do anything just to save their son/daughter from being taken away! Aside from Halle Berry being a really good actress, she really nailed this film!

I just got excited to know how the story will end after the long road scenes. We really had a looooong way drive and thrill here! So, buckle up and sit beside Halle Berry to understand the feeling!