Kidnap Blu-ray Review
Sometimes you have to suspend disbelief to enjoy a film. Not about whether or not there are aliens attacking the world or whether or not Leo would have easily fit on that floating piece of wood at the end of TITANIC. Just common sense stuff. And if you can do that, you may enjoy KIDNAP more than I did.
Karla Dyson (Berry) is a hard-working single mom who loves her son, Frankie (Correa) very much. When we meet them she is finishing up her shift at the local diner with plans to take the youngster to the local fair. After a few glitches she gets away and the two head off to the local fairgrounds. The two play a game that keeps them close. Whenever Frankie is separated from his mother, and vice versa, Karla will call out “Marco,” to which Frankie will reply “Polo,” letting his mother know he is safely within ear watch.
While watch a stage performance Karla receives a phone call from her lawyer, informing her that he ex-husband is going to request sole custody of the boy. Upset she begins to protest but then is distracted as she has not received the customary “Polo” reply to her “Marco” query. She returns to where they were sitting to find Frankie gone. Frantically she searches the area, asking people if they have seen him. She runs to the parking lot to see Frankie being forced into a strange car. She runs up to the car and pounds on the windows, being dragged along as it speeds off. She finally is tossed to the ground and runs to her mini-van, speeding off to follow the vehicle. For the next hour she will play the cat and mouse game she has been forced into.
A nice thriller of a film with a very short run-time, KIDNAP benefits from the strong performance of Halle Berry as a mother whose love for her child will never end. Whether she’s weaving through rush hour traffic in pursuit of the kidnappers or staring one of them down in a field, her bravery and resolve know no bounds. Which you would expect. What I liked about the performance was that she didn’t resort to Mel Gibson-like theatrics to let the audience know she will not rest until she and Frankie are reunited. This is the believable part.
What I found incredulous is that apparently there are only two roads in the state Karla lives on. Overcrowded highways, where car chases cause massive and, I’m sure, fatal accidents. And long stretches where the only two cars on them for miles are Karla and the kidnappers. Karla loses her cellphone before she can give chase but you would think, considering the carnage she causes in her pursuit, that other drivers have captured the events either on their cell phones or dash cams and would have alerted authorities. The news does get out but when the police pull over the wrong mini-van (same color but not showing the damages caused by multiple vehicle impacts) the chase is presumably ended.
This is a film that would have worked better in the 70s or 80s, when if you witnessed something on the highway you had to pull over to find a pay phone. As it is, it’s a great performance in a “meh” movie.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: The film is presented in a 2:40.1 aspect ratio and is well transferred. Images are sharp and the colors, particular Karla’s red mini-van and the kidnappers green vehicle , stand out.
Audio: The English soundtrack is presented in a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track and is well mixed. If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like to participate in a demolition derby, listen to this film and wonder no more.
A Look Inside “Kidnap” (3:13): A bare bones featurette with brief interviews with Halle Berry and director Luis Prieto.