‘The clock is ticking for the human race’
Abducted is a 2019 Chinese science-fiction action film about a man who awakes with no memory and is pursued by dangerous mysterious figures.
Directed by Ernie Barbarash from a screenplay written by Mike MacLean, the movie stars Scott Adkins (The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud; Seized; Legacy of Lies; Legendary), Andy On, Truong Ngoc Anh and Lilly Ji. Legendary veteran filmmaker Roger Corman was one of the executive producers.
Plot:
Quinn (Scott Adkins), a member of a SWAT unit, steps out of a park fountain in Vietnam with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. As he pieces together clues from his past, he vaguely recalls his young daughter, who has been kidnapped.
Meanwhile, Connor Andy On, a former military operative turned gangster-for-hire, discovers that his wife has also disappeared mysteriously in the middle of the night. These two men, with little in common, realize they must work together to find their loved ones and thwart their mysterious abductors…
Reviews:
“Both Adkins and On get many opportunities to shine […] until they face off against each other at the film’s climax, a fine match-up that’s over too soon but nevertheless does them both justice. Ernie Barbarash captures the plentiful scuffles unobtrusively. The plot is consistently cheesy but modestly engaging, playing like a crossover between an episode from The 4th Dimension and one from Métal Hurlant…” Asian Film Strike
“Adkins does what he can with the material he is given, which is admirable. I can’t fault him for trying something a little different, even if it doesn’t work. The scenes of him wandering the streets and spouting gibberish are sort of like Bruce Willis’ character in 12 Monkeys, and Adkins looks like he’s having fun while trying to flex his acting muscles.” The Video Vacuum
“Abduction is sophisticated, eerie camp with a prototypical premise, standardized direction, and a knack for having some decently choreographed block blow sequences. Compared to more commercial releases however, the film just seems a little underwhelming.” Views on Film
“Director Ernie Barbarash has proven himself a good if unspectacular DTV director with the likes of Cube Zero and Assassination Games. But here he’s working from a script that doesn’t do much beyond string the fight scenes together […] Abduction is also plagued with some horrendous effects. It has some of the worst CGI bullet hits and blood spray…” Voices from the Balcony
Cast and characters:
Scott Adkins … Quinn
Andy On … Conner
Truong Ngoc Anh … Anna
Lily Ji … Maya
Aki Aleong … Dao
Daniel Whyte … The Visitor
Mike Leeder … The Cleaner
Brahim Chab … Yuri (as Brahim Achabbakhe)
Paul W. He … Sonny
Philippe Joly … Mogilov
Michael Darrow … Visitor
Tom Caserto … Drone Elwood
Kevin Lee … Drone Giant
Semiquaver Iafeta … Drone Jake
Andrew Ng … Doctor Gong
Technical details:
98 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.78: 1
Notes:
Not to be confused with Abduction (2011) which stars Taylor Lautner.
Trailer:
