Kidnap

When a mother (Halle Berry) sees her son being kidnapped from a fairground, she roars off in hot pursuit, forgetting her purse and cell phone in the heat of the moment. Written by Knate Lee and directed by Luis Prieto, the movie is basically a one-character, mama-bear version of Taken. Berry’s character has a run of luck, plowing through a lot of highway mayhem without attracting much attention; the one cop who tries to pull her over is conveniently disposed of by the kidnappers, who keep slowing down to let Mom catch up. Prieto has trouble finessing the shift from early sugary-sweetness (in scenes evidently meant to pad the movie’s modest running time) to demolition derby for the rest. It’s efficient but unsubtle; Lee and Prieto don’t know the difference between real suspense and mere tension. JL