Reclaim

Low budget, low grade thriller which cynically pretends it is dealing with the issue of child trafficking.

In fact its just a dumb trailer with multiple endings to pad out its short running time and lack of main plot.

Steven (Ryan Phillippe) and Shannon (Rachelle Lefevre) are a couple who have received a multi million dollar payout after an automobile accident which also left her unable to have kids.

They take part in an adoption process abroad to take care of an Haitian girl which is going to cost them a lot of money. Just before the process is finalized the keep bumping into Benjamin (John Cusack) and then later realise that the girl they were hoping to adopt has disappeared and the whole adoption process was a scam. As the local police tell them, the girl was reclaimed and the scam will move on elsewhere.

However the schemers want more as they become aware that our couple have serious money so go for a big payday by kidnapping them.

The film has a flimsy plot and flimsier action and just when you thought its all over we get a literal cliffhanger and then some more.

The film actually feels longer than its short running time. It is a straight to pay TV film which has bagged a couple of well known names who perform adequately with a poor script and not very good direction. However the actress playing the adopted girl was very stiff and inanimate. If I was adopting her I would had asked for a refund.

Here goes an hour and a half of my life for nothing. the acting was very bad (even John Cusack's), the directing is very very bad. the story itself is not solid, and the reason for the couple to adopt is repeating itself over and over, directors have to find a new reason for couples to adopt other than that story. i think the story shows how naive this couple was, and how they got themselves in trouble, and the funny thing is they won against a very bad people, loaded with guns and criminal history. the husband doesn't look of the type who will beat a whole gang, and he looked as comfortable with the places he is in as it were his neighborhood.

I don't recommend this movie at all, very bad and a waste of time.

Steven (Ryan Phillippe) and wife Shannon (Rachelle Lefevre) get caught up in a child trafficking scam when they go to Puerto Rico to adopt a young girl.

The above is all you really need to know. If you take the language out this would be a tepid made-for-TV movie. The script is lame, the acting is okay but there is no pull here. In other words no real reason to continue watching. There are no twists. What you see is what you get and that is not saying much. If you are not familiar with human trafficking then this is a primer for you: Human Trafficking 101.

Very disappointing. It should have had more impact, importance that would have showcased a very big worldwide problem: human trafficking. Didn't happen.

Normally, I run to a John Cusack movie. Now I have to rethink that. Like I said: disappointing. (3/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

Human Trafficking by way of an Internet Scam "Selling" Children to Desperate, Wanting Rich Parents Trying to Avoid Red-Tape, with the Pretense of Legitimacy.

The Low-Budget Movie starts with the Devastation of a Haitian Earthquake and its Aftermath. The Orphaned Children are then Exploited as Product.

Puerto Rican Locations Highlight the Backdrop to what amounts to a Frantic Chase to "Reclaim" a Little Girl that has been "Reclaimed" by the Traffickers. It's a Battle of Brawn with very Little Wit on Both Sides.

John Cusac vs Ryan Phillippe and Rachelle Lefevre with Little Briana Roy as the "Daughter"/Package.

It's Suspenseful Enough with the Action and Acting on Par with the Production, Especially Cusac who Elevates the Proceedings in quite a Slimy Role in this Formulaic Film.

Worth a Watch for Interested Viewers but don't expect any Surprises, It does have a rather Distant Feel considering the Up Close Situation of a "Family" Torn Apart and the Urgency Involved.

Cars don't blow up when they run into trees. You Hollywood people are idiots