Plot: What’s it about?
Halle Berry is certainly a capable actress, but sometimes her film choices seem more than a little odd. Dare I say, beneath her as well? One might place Kidnap into that category, but taken for what it is, it does work in a strange way. I can always appreciate when a film doesn’t try to be more than what it is. Not unlike the other film starring berry, The Call. The difference here is she’s the victim this time and right in the center of it all from the get go. Sometimes it’s nice to see a film like this where we get a simple plot, small amount of characters and that’s that. It works to the film’s advantage here as we’re given pretty much all we need. We get just enough character development from Berry’s character that we can follow her journey and remain fairly interested. All this despite getting a bit preposterous before the closing credits start.
Berry plays Karla Dyson, she’s a waitress at a diner and has a young son named Frankie (Sage Correa). Despite a custody battle, everything else seems to be ok with her life. As busy as Karla can be, she’s able to take her son to a carnival one day to have fun. She keeps a close eye on Frankie, but steps away momentarily to take a phone call only to find that her son has been kidnapped. She’s able to see her son’s kidnapper, and chases after her in her own car. During her struggle, she loses her cellphone, and this results in her trying to seek help from fellow motorists, but with no luck. The plot is relatively straightforward, but does add a few surprises along the way. Karla is resourceful and uses a toy recorder her son had to get the kidnapper’s name. Plenty of mayhem ensues with Karla eventually coming face to face with one of the kidnappers. Karla is told that a $10,000 ransom must be paid and that she must follow another car to their destination. A bit more happens, but I’ll wisely leave out some plot specifics as to avoid spoilers.
At the end of the day, Kidnap kept me with it. It’s so well-paced that we don’t really slow down to nitpick the various flaws with the plot. To be fair, the premise does try to keep things fairly grounded. I admit that I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the unintentionally hilarious moments. Don’t get me wrong, there’s not one thing funny about a young boy being kidnapped, but some moments are a bit over the top. The damage Karla causes as she’s chasing the kidnappers puts a lot of innocent bystanders in danger and while Berry is a strong actress, some moments from her did get a smirk or two out of me. Still, there’s a good bit of tension in the film and it held my interest. At under 90 minutes, it thankfully doesn’t overstay its welcome either. Kidnap isn’t a must-see film, but it’s a worthy rental.
Video: How’s it look?
A new to Blu-ray film, Kidnap looks good. It’s nothing particularly overwhelming and I found nothing to complain about, but it wasn’t instantly struck by how insanely good this looked. There’s not a lot wrong with the image, but it just doesn’t scream “high definition” to me. When watching television on HDTV or even streaming via Netflix, this seems on par with that. Black levels are strong, detail is sharp and Halle Berry refuses to age. It’s a good-looking transfer that’ll please, but don’t be prepared to be totally blown away.
Audio: How’s it sound?
A bit more impressive is the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. Vocals are clear and crisp, directional effects do their fare share and there are several moments when I felt like I was a part of the movie. Yes, it’s not something that’ll blow the roof off the place, but I was pleasantly surprised with the way this sounded. The LFE even have a few moments to shine. It’s actually a fairly good-sounding track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- A Look Inside Kidnap – The lone supplement on the disc is rather average. We get the obligatory cast and crew interviews as well as some behind the scenes footage. Halle Berry in a bikini would have been nice, but no such luck.
The Bottom Line
While Berry has been in far better films, Kidnap still entertains despite getting a bit preposterous at times. The film hits the ground running and never really stops. This works in the film’s favor since we can’t nitpick the flaws as much. It’s not something you need to own, but a rental is advised.
