Trapped (2002)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Luis Mandoki

Writers (WGA):

Greg Iles (novel)
Greg Iles (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear Strikes Back.

Plot:

When their daughter is kidnapped by experienced nappers (Bacon and Love), the Jennings' (Theron and Townsend) turn the tables on this seemingly foolproof plan.

Plot Keywords:

Ransom | Airplane | One Word Title | Scalpel | Near Death Experience

Cast

Charlize Theron	...	Karen
Courtney Love	...	Cheryl
Stuart Townsend	...	Will
Kevin Bacon	...	Hickey
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Marvin
Dakota Fanning	...	Abby Jennings
Steve Rankin	...	Hank Ferris
Gary Chalk	...	Agent Chalmers (as Garry Chalk)
Jodie Markell	...	Mary McDill
Matt Koby	...	Peter McDill
Gerry Becker	...	Dr. Stein
Andrew Airlie	...	Holden
Randi Lynne	...	Hotel Operator
Colleen Camp	...	Joan Evans
J.B. Bivens	...	Gray Davidson

Also Known As:

24 Hours (USA) (working title)
24 Stunden Angst (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (No. 38424) | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

Originally, the film was meant to take place in the south, but because of filming locations, it was changed to Seattle.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the airplane engine is cut the plane dives. A real plane will not nose dive because of an engine cut but will tend to descend much more smoothly.

Quotes:

Abby: Will you wiggle your wings after you takeoff?
Will: Better watch and see!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Trapped: From Within (2002) (V)

Good thriller with some banal dialogue

It's unfortunate that Columbia/Sony is not pushing this movie -- there's some convincing acting here (Theron does the woman-in-jeopardy thing well; doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes too!) and three different storylines interwoven by the writer quite nicely. Some good setups and payoffs as well (though one involving the waggling of a plane's wings is kinda corny, but it worked). My only criticism is that some of the dialogue is predictable (the bad guys says exactly what we expect him to say in certain scenes). Courtney Love plays a white trash wench pretty well, but that's not surprising given her vagabond background.

BOTTOMLINE: If you like thrillers, go see this on a matinee -- worth seeing on the big screen for some beautiful cinematography of the Pacific Northwest and the climax. IMHO a big step above ALONG CAME A SPIDER and HIGH CRIMES. I haven't seen Mandoki's other flicks, but I plan to rent them now. I just hope Charlize Theron chooses some more challenging dramatic roles, or her career will probably suffer for it.