Nathan (Taylor Lautner) is a relatively regular kid, about to finish high school, a bit of a thrill-seeker and seeing a therapist due to ill-defined anger management issues from his early teens. He is paired up with his friend and neighbour Karen (Lily Collins) for a school project, through which they find themselves scanning through a website detailing children who have disappeared. Nathan notices an uncanny resemblance between himself and one of those children, which serves as a catalyst for the murder of the people he believed to be his parents, sending him on the run with the CIA and a Serbian secret agent on his tail, while he tries to figure out who he really is and what has become of his real parents.

*****

To get the obvious out of the way first thing, Taylor Lautner is no great shakes as an actor. His relative youth was a serviceable excuse for Sharkboy & Lava Girl, but by the time we now get four films into the Twilight saga, it is starting to show glaringly. He can scowl, smile and (we now discover) kick and punch with the best of them, but his line delivery and conveying of emotional weight remain lacking.

Having said that, his limitations do not really present much of a problem in relation to the overall impact of this film, the latest in a long line of illustrations that director John Singleton really has gone a long, long way downhill since Boyz N The Hood, his searing 1991 debut. Singleton at least has the good sense to pack the film out with impressive actors (Alfred Molina, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist), who take care of the heavy-lifting, while Lautner frowns, runs, punches and looks good on a motorcycle. The script is pure bunkum (Nathan’s real father stole a list of secret agents from the aforementioned Serbian who wants it back), but remains believably conveyed without too much ham-fisted exposition and it cannot be questioned that Lautner is more than a match for the physical requirements of the film, holding his own in fight scenes with bigger, older and more accomplished men on the basis of an apparently impressive background in martial arts. Although Lautner does not have much range, the role does not require too much of him and he acquits himself well with limited material.

Aside from Lautner, everyone does their part. Weaver, Molina et al could do this stuff in their sleep, but to their credit they do not phone their performances in and give good value for the most part. As by the numbers as the film is, there is no sense of anyone having ideas above their station in terms of their aspirations for the film and no-one does the film the disservice of sleep-walking through their scenes. All concerned seem to appreciate that the film is what it is, a serviceable action thriller, built on and playing to the appeal of Lautner and not trying to be anything more than that. The running time is fine, knocking around the 100min mark and although the plot takes a little longer to kick into gear than it should, once Nathan and Karen are on the run the pacing is excellent, alternating between action sequences and moments of rest and plot development, which whilst far from emotionally affecting, do at least keep you interested to the end.

There are a number of good set pieces, some involving Lautner, others bringing in Bello and Isaacs for some welcome ass-kicking and they help to keep our attention when the admittedly unsurprising narrative begins to become formulaic. This is nothing that will convert those uninterested in Lautner’s tight abs, nor will it deter those who adore him and it seems likely that with the right choices Lautner can carve out a decent career for himself. You can catch it here from 13th February.

**½~~ (2.5/5)

Extras: Lautner comes across as surprisingly and pleasantly enthusiastic, realistic, grounded and focussed in the raft of extras which inevitably focus on him. He waxes eloquent about working with the rest of the impressive cast and seems to understand how fortunate he is to find himself where he is, career-wise. Everyone has genuinely nice things to say about his physical ability and commitment to the performance, whether in the brief making of doc, or the featurette that looks at fighting training. We also get a slightly longer featurette that takes us through the shooting schedule and Lautner’s recollections of and reflections on each phase. It is quite interesting to see the shooting sequence and how much time is given to each element of the film and to see Lautner’s self-effacing nature come through. Finally, there is a run of the mill gag reel.

**½~~ (2.5/5)

To mark the release of Abduction starring Taylor Lautner on DVD and Blu-ray 13th February, Lions Gate Home Entertainment have given three copies of the movie to give away on Blu-ray. Abduction is directed by John Singleton and also stars Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist and Sigourney Weaver.

TAYLOR LAUTNER (The Twilight Saga) stars as a young man whose secret past is set to collide with a dangerous reality. ABDUCTION, also stars SIGOURNEY WEAVER (Avatar) and LILY COLLINS (Priest, Mirror Mirror) and will be available to download, and to rent and buy on DVD and Blu-ray from 13^th February 2012.

For as long as he can remember, Nathan Harper (Lautner) has had the uneasy feeling that he’s living someone else’s life. When he discovers an image of himself as a young boy on a missing persons website, all of Nathan’s darkest fears come true – his life has been a carefully fabricated lie which hides something more dangerous than he could have ever imagined. Before his ‘parents’ can explain they are murdered and Nathan finds himself on the run.

Propelled on a lethal, no-holds barred mission to learn the truth, every second counts as Nathan and his friend Karen (Collins), aided by an undercover agent (Weaver), race to evade an army of assassins and federal operatives. But as his opponents close in, Nathan realizes that the only way to survive is to stop running and take matters into his own hands.

Click next to be taken to the competition question and entry form:

Taylor Lautner is risen to the accolade of ‘Hollywood megastar’ after playing Jacob in the Twilight franchise and subsequently rocking to stardom.

The good news for Twihards is that there are still two more movies to look forward to but in the meantime Taylor has been a very busy man and has somehow found time to make this new movie, Abduction with Lionsgate which is out in UK cinemas now.

We got to catch up with him in a very swanky hotel in London earlier in the week and the interview is embedded below.

In the interview, we talk about how Taylor has adapted to becoming a leading man after working so closely with such a huge cast in the Twilight movies, we talk stunts and how they were carried out, how certain scenes in the movie were shot and we get a little insight into what you can expect when you go and see Abduction at the cinema.

For the rest of our Abduction coverage, click here.

Monday night in a very wet London held the European premiere of Abduction. It was absolutely pouring with rain but that didn’t stop the Twilight fans flocking their in their droves to get a glimpse of Taylor Lautner and his co-star in the movie, Lily Collins (daughter of singer Phil Collins) on the red carpet at the BFI.

Our friends from Upbeat were there to brave the rain and got interviews with both the young actors who told them what it was like filming the movie. We got to chat with Taylor at the junket on the same day and our interview will hopefully be going live tomorrow or Friday.

Abduction is directed by John Singleton​​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins​, Alfred Molina​​, Jason Isaacs​​, Maria Bello​​, Michael Nyqvist​​ and Sigourney Weaver​​. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can catch up here.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

In a couple of weeks, I think I’m going to get interview time with Taylor Lautner for his new movie, Abduction which comes out in the UK 28th September. Until then however, we’ll have to make do with the US premiere to get our weekend Lautner fix. Earlier this week, all the stars of the movie were at the US premiere in Hollywood and Lionsgate have created this interview featurette.

Abduction is directed by John Singleton​​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins​, Alfred Molina​​, Jason Isaacs​​, Maria Bello​​, Michael Nyqvist​​ and Sigourney Weaver​​. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can catch up here.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Here’s a nice little treat for all your Taylor Lautner fans out there as Total Film have released this new image from his latest movie, Abduction. The image comes from the set of the movie that they used for their photoshoot in their latest issue. If you want to see a snippet of their interview, you can have a little look here.

Abduction is directed by John Singleton​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina​, Jason Isaacs​, Maria Bello​, Michael Nyqvist​​ and Sigourney Weaver​​. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can catch up here.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 28th September.

You can keep track of all our Abduction coverage right here.

Lionsgate UK have sent over this new extended clip from their new movie, Abduction which stars Taylor Lautner and from what we can tell, he spends most the movie kicking the cr*p out of people! In this new extended, clip, you get to see him board a train and then proceed to kick said cr*p out of someone who is obviously out to get him – with his thighs!

Abduction is directed by John Singleton​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina​, Jason Isaacs​, Maria Bello​, Michael Nyqvist​​ and Sigourney Weaver​​. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can catch up here.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 28th September.

Taylor Lautner is once again jealous that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson got loads of new images from their honeymoon in Twilight: Breaking Dawn so once again made sure that he got a new poster with just him on it for his new movie, Abduction!

Abduction is directed by John Singleton​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina​, Jason Isaacs​, Maria Bello​, Michael Nyqvist​ and Sigourney Weaver​. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can catch up here.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 28th September.

This poster comes from MovieFone

Yahoo have released this new stunt featurette for Taylor Lautner’s new movie, Abduction! Abduction is directed by John Singleton​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina​, Jason Isaacs​, Maria Bello​, Michael Nyqvist​ and Sigourney Weaver​. If you’ve missed the trailers for it, you can catch up here.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 28th September.

Check out the featurette below:

I literally just finished writing up a post for a new image of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart from Twilight: Breaking Dawn only to see this new trailer for Taylor Lautner’s new movie, Abduction! I think he’s just trying to outdo his co-stars!

We’ve already had one trailer for his new movie, Abduction (which if you missed you can see here) and you’ll be pleased to hear that this new one still has him sliding down buildings! I think this trailer gives away a little too much though so if you don’t want to know any spoilers, don’t watch this! Abduction is directed by John Singleton​ and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina​, Jason Isaacs​, Maria Bello​, Michael Nyqvist​ and Sigourney Weaver​.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 28th September.

Source: Apple

Here’s a brand new poster which as the title would suggest, would see Twilight star Taylor Lautner sliding down a building for his new movie, Abduction. We’ve had a trailer for the movie which if you missed you can see here. The movie is directed by John Singleton and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist and Sigourney Weaver.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 23rd September.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

Source: Yahoo

No people, it’s not true, the Twilight star hasn’t been abducted, this is the poster for his new movie. Abduction had it’s first trailer this week which you can see here. The movie is directed by John Singleton and stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist and Sigourney Weaver.

Abduction should be with us in the UK 23rd September.

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website?  Teen Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

This new poster comes from Just Jared via the lovely chaps at ComingSoon.

We’ve a little Rango crazy over the last few weeks, and with good reason.

Gore Verbinski’s CG adventure looks incredible, as the many trailers and clips show, and we’ve got our hands on some concept art showing the transition between the hand drawn storyboards and the final shot. It’s always interesting to break down the hard work done by the talented artists, and unlike yesterday’s rant about Mars Needs Moms, the final result is perfect.

Rango’s voice cast includes Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina and hits UK cinemas on today!

You can keep track of all our Rango coverage right here!

Scene 1

Scene 2

Tomorrow sees the arrival of Rango into UK cinemas.

We loved the film, and Gore Verbinski’s chameleonic western tale not only looks fantastic but benefits from a voice cast which includes Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin and Alfred Molina.

You can see why we’re excited about this one.

We’ve covered the film from the surreal first trailer and following the many other clips and posters we now have the chance to sit down with Mr Depp himself as Upbeat ask the man all about Rango, why we should love it as well as the production known as emotion capture.

Here’s the clip. There’s a play button – you know the drill.

The Tempest brings Shakespeare’s final masterpiece to the big screen, I caught up with Djimon Hounsou where we talked about his Director Julie Taymor, and stars Helen Mirren and Russell Brand.

The Tempest stars Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Alan Cumming, Chris Cooper, Djimon Hounsou and is directed by Julie Taymor.

Synopsis: In Julie Taymor’s version of ‘The Tempest,’ the main character is now a woman named Prospera. Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practising the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor’s version, Prospera is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it’s a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect.

The Tempest hits UK cinemas 4th March 2011.

Rango sees Gore Verbinski and Jonny Depp team up to tell the tale of a pet chameleon with aspirations of becoming an actor finding himself stranded in a town called Dirt in the Mojave desert. In order to fit in with the locals he adopts the persona of a typical western gunslinger and soon finds himself in the role of the towns Sheriff. When the towns water supply goes missing Rango is tasked with locating its whereabouts.

I have to admit that when I first saw posters of Rango; they really didn’t grab me but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it in advance of its release via some very favourable reviews, including one from Lisa on this very site.

I suppose I should have learned my lesson about writing off animated films before I’ve seen them as the past two years I did this with Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and How to Train Your Dragon and they were among my favourite films in the years that they were released and having seen the most recent TV spots and trailers I can see Rango being up there among my favourites at the end of the year.

If you’re still not sold on the film check out this exclusive clip courtesy of MSN that clocks in at a little over six minutes. From the footage I’ve seen Rango appears to be being played as a straight western that’s aimed at adults rather than kids that on the surface are its target audience. The animation looks pretty damn amazing and I can’t wait to check it out on its release this weekend.

And if that clip didn’t provide enough Rango goodness for your liking; check out this new international poster courtesy of IMPA.

Johnny Depp’s latest movie comes in animated form with the name of Rango. I caught up with co-star Abigail Breslin and their director Gore Verbinski where we talked about acting for this animated movie with no voice booth included.

If you missed our interview post with Isla Fisher you can check it out here, our review of the movie here and all our Rango coverage can be seen here.

Rango is released this Friday, 4th March and you can check out the official Rango Facebook page here.

Over the last week there have been a number of clips from Gore Verbinski’s Rango unleashed onto an expectant world and I can’t work out why people aren’t falling over themselves to praise the quality of the visuals here.

I’m not just talking about the character design or the impressively rendered models or the almost photo-realistic world it is set in – there’s a quality about the movement of the characters, there’s a real tangible understanding of animation on offer here. Check out this new clip, and you’ll see what I mean.

Rango has a voice cast which includes Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina and hits UK cinemas on 4th March.

You can keep track of all our Rango coverage right here and that includes our review of the film (short version: It’s great).

Eyes down for a full clip,

ComingSoon came over all sourcey, along with Moviefone

Pirates of the Caribbean colleagues, director Gore Verbinski and actor Johnny Depp are the headliners on the poster for this  new animation but in all honesty, you really wouldn’t recognise Depp’s vocals, were you not in the know. Depp is like a voice chameleon himself as the optimistic lizard lead, Rango, the latest bestial hero sent to capture our hearts.

Emotions aside, what instantly sets this animation apart is the striking, near photo-realistic quality to the production. Another added bonus is 3D glasses are not included, which comes as a welcome relief, and merely demonstrates that the right story and a little imagination ought to go to determine a film’s marketability – not the medium.

Rango is a domestic pet and aspiring thespian in a loud Hawaiian shirt (not sure why?) that crash-lands in a desert. Naturally, to get us on his side from the start, Rango’s like a ‘lizard out of water’ and adorably scatty and accident-prone. After a run-in with the local flying terror, an overly determined hawk, Rango walks into an animal-run, Western-style town called Dirt, where the local currency is water. After telling the colourful locals a few porkies about his so-called heroics, Rango is made the local sheriff, and when the water in the bank goes missing, he and others must ride out to track its whereabouts. But there are other flies in the ointment and dark secrets to be uncovered, before the townsfolk finally get a drop to drink. Plus Rango must deal with his growing feelings for the feisty and sporadically dumbstruck female lizard called Beans (Isla Fisher).

Rango is similar to a coming-of-age animal story that pokes fun at the formulaic nature of other animations that deliver the usual, tired cross-country adventure to find salvation and purpose – complete with its own serenading band of gringo owls. It is, perhaps, one of the first ‘animal-animated Westerns’ for all ages. But this is where it may not translate so well for a younger audience. As with the Western genre, Rango has a lot of ‘breathing space’ to it to capture the mood. However, the youngsters at the screening were getting noticeable restless, as the wisecracking and conversation lulls began to wear thin for their attention spans.

There are also some incredibly frightening sequences, and obvious references to ‘killing someone’ and death, which certainly make it PG, and set it apart from the U-rated films like Toy Story 3, where any sinister intentions are diluted. And those fearful of snakes, especially Nagini in Harry Potter, are being forewarned: Enhanced by the impressive photo-realism, Rattlesnake Jake (voiced by Bill Nighy) is more strikingly terrifying than any other animated serpent seen – the Potter basilisk aside, complete with a sudden coiling momentum that will make any grown-up shudder, let alone a small kid.

Indeed, Rango is probably more accurately described as an ‘adult-geared animation’ because of its Western make-up and its dry humour, reveling in some mild crudity, drinking (albeit ‘cactus juice’ that looks decidedly like moonshine) and smoking. Of course these are unavoidable and celebrated elements of cowboy films, and to be honest kids today are certainly better equipped to deal with such matters. But parents, be just warned. Oh, and make sure you’re equipped with enough fluids too last the 107 minutes, too, because Rango and its dusty imagery makes for thirsty work.

Some odd lip-synching with some of the characters aside, namely Beans, that actually gives her an even quirkier appeal, Rango is an energetic hoot, complete with its very own water-wishing hoedown. In fact, the blatant environmental shout-out about preserving our most precious asset – water – is, thankfully, never reiterated in the script for the ‘hard of thinking’, but trickles along nicely though the plot crevices. Rango turns out to be a master of adaptability and good will in the end, in fact, an educating and entertaining little ambassador for all with an addictive personality.

****~ (4/5)

Isla Fisher used to be on Home and Away, just like Melissa George, whose turn in Christopher Smith’s Triangle was very impressive, and with her leading role in Confessions of a Shopaholic and her appearances in Burke and Hare and now Gore Verbinski’s Rango, the future is looking grand for Ms. Fisher.

Here she talks to James Kleinmann about her role in the animated movie, which thanks to embargo-necessitated cryptic messages the early reaction to the film is seemingly very positive and we love what we’ve seen so far.

Video follows – 4th of March is when we can expect Rango in the cinemas,