The Worst Film Ever

Simply Perfect

Absolutely Brilliant!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A decent thriller with superb performances from the major players, but it just fizzled in the end. An amazing performance from Dakota Fanning and the surprising Courtney Love could not elevate this movie into the top notch category. Kevin Bacon as usual plays the disturbed, sicko bad guy and does it as well as anyone. Charlize Theron also did a great job and she is maybe one of the most photogenic actresses of her time. Everything was there for this to be a memorable and unforgettable movie, but unfortunately, the director missed too many opportunities to create and build the tension to a level where you could not wait for the bad guy to meet his end. It never reached boiling point, the intensity just was not there, and you are left wondering what could have been.

Trapped is a taught little thriller. It combines a strong cast of characters with a well designed plot and an explosive ending. If movies were like food, this one would be a mouthwatering cheeseburger that tastes as good as it looks.This is a story about a trio of kidnappers and the fifth family they've targeted. The scheme is wonderfully smart and simple. The victims are always rich families with one young child. When the dad leaves homes for some reason, Joe (Kevin Bacon) and his subservient cousin Marvin (Pruitt Taylor Vince) grab the kid. While Joe stays with the mom, Marvin takes the kid to a separate location. Joe's wife Cheryl (Courtney Love) then sidles up the dad and informs him of what's going on. Joe has the mom wire $250, 000 dollars to the dad, who then gives the money to Cheryl. Once that's done, Marvin releases the child and the kidnappers disappear. It all happens in the course of 24 hours with Joe phoning his partners every 30 minutes or the kid dies. The swiftness of the plan helps prevent the authorities from becoming involved and it eliminates the need for a traditional ransom exchange where most kidnappers get caught.The first four times they did it, it worked out perfectly for the kidnappers. The fifth time…not so much. The mom (Charlize Theron) is bit too smart and ingenious for Joe to handle. The dad (Stuart Townsend) is a little more bold and assertive than Cheryl can deal with. Their little girl (Dakota Fanning) has severe asthma, which complicates the whole scenario. Worst of all, this abduction isn't just business. Joe, Cheryl and Marvin have something personal against this family, something that causes them to break their own rules and put everything in jeopardy.Now, I suppose you could subtract a few points from Trapped for its use of childhood asthma as a plot device. That's become a well worn cliché for this sort of film. The ending of the movie, while pretty effective, is also quite over-the-top and not in tune with the rest of the story. The explanation for why the previous four families victimized by the kidnappers didn't call the police after it happened doesn't hold water. And there's one moment when a twist gets pulled out of the screenwriter's behind to get over a important plot hump. Those are only minor quibbles, though, in an otherwise well written movie.Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon carry the film with a couple of very entertaining performances. The mental and emotional struggle between Joe and the mom is both dramatic and believable. Bacon portrays Joe as this creepy paradox of professional detachment at war with his baser impulses. He's come up with a kidnapping plan that's supposed to ensure no one has to get hurt, yet makes a habit of forcing the mothers to have sex with him to keep their children safe. Theron's work as the mom is just as striking, letting us see her self-control battling with her overpowering concern for her child.And outside of that one exception, the plot twists in the story are also perfectly calibrated. There are just enough snags that develop in Joe's plan to keep you wondering how it's going to turn out, without having things spin implausibly out of control. It's always a challenge in this kind of tale to keep the problems that develop from being so obvious that the villain seems like an idiot for not anticipating them. Yet, if the bad guy is too smart, his mistakes and errors have to become so unlikely and improbable that it makes the whole thing feel contrived.Trapped is good piece of entertainment and well worth seeing.

"When their daughter is abducted and taken for ransom by a gang of serial kidnappers, a young doctor and his wife find themselves held hostage while a 24-hour plan to extort their money is set into motion. Now, with time running out and the health of their asthmatic daughter at serious risk, they find themselves in a life-and-death race against the clock as the 'perfect crime' begins spiraling towards an unthinkable, terrifying and deadly conclusion," according to the film's official synopsis.This is the old "kidnapped family" plot, with the main attraction being casting devilish Kevin Bacon (as Joe Hickey) and gorgeous Charlize Theron (as Karen Jennings) in two of the main roles - gang leader and frazzled wife. Also interesting is how writer Greg Iles divides the kidnappers and victims into three locations… Mr. Bacon holds Ms. Theron at the family home; his wife, Courtney Love (as Cheryl), keeps Theron's husband, Stuart Townsend (as Will), in a hotel room, at gunpoint; and, Bacon's slow-witted cousin, Pruitt Taylor Vince (as Marvin Pool), minds little Dakota Fanning (as Abby) in a cabin. The three pairs come together in a "white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat" conclusion; and, by the time you realize it isn't even remotely plausible, director Luis Mandoki and the cast have you "Trapped".****** Trapped (9/20/02) Luis Mandoki ~ Charlize Theron, Kevin Bacon, Stuart Townsend, Courtney Love

I had seen this movie a couple of years ago and thought it was good. I decided to buy it a few months back and finally got round to watching it last week. A friend wanted to watch something and had not seen this film before.I felt extremely pleased that I had purchased this film, as it had delivered more than anticipated. I actually thought it was even better on the second viewing.The Performance of Charlize Theron was amazing and incredibly believable, the terror on her face and the fear of what may happen to her daughter. Kevin Bacon was almost equally as good as the sleazy kidnapper with a hidden agenda. Dakota Fanning put in decent performance as the kidnapped child as did Pruitt Taylor Vince as Bacon's mentally challenged accomplice. Stuart Towsend performed okay as Theron's husband and Courtney Love was decent in her role considering she is not really an actress.Essentially though it is Theron and Bacon that dominate this film with towering performances that really cement their reputations as excellent actors. I found the tension at times unbearable and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat. The ending is bit ludicrous and over the top, but overall on reflection the movie really was entertaining, well acted and tense. I think this is a movie I will want to watch many times. Everyone I know who has seen it agrees that this is an excellent thriller, and having seen Red Eye yesterday and other similar movies such as Don't Say a Word, and Cellular I can honestly say I believe Trapped to be superior to those mentioned and one of the better examples of this type of thriller. Why do film studios or directors insist on spoiling these types of films with over the top action packed endings though? 7/10