Academy Award-winnerHalle Berryhas been a staple in Hollywood for over 30 years, having first landed her breakthrough performance alongside Eddie Murphy in the 1992 romantic comedyBoomerang.Since her stellar debut, Berry has showcased her range by portraying superheroes, lethal assassins, and even a Bond girl. In 2017, she starred as a working mother on a mission to rescue her kidnapped young son in the action thrillerKidnap.
Much like the recently released Netflix originalExterritorial,which is currently taking audiences by storm,Kidnapshowcases the extreme lengths a parent will go to for the sake of their child. Berry’s relentless character pursues her son’s captors and takes justice into her own hands. The underrated Berry flick is the perfect follow-up after streaming the German action hit, which has topped Netflix’s Top 10 Films chart in 79 countries. Let’s take a closer look atKidnap.
Berry Stars in a Terrifyingly Realistic Action Thriller
Halle Berry continued to prove herself to be one of the silver screen’smost entertaining movie starswhen she headlined the 2017 action thrillerKidnap,in which the Oscar-winner appears as waitress and devoted single mother Karla Dyson, who finds herself faced with every parent’s worst nightmare after her six-year-old son Frankie is kidnapped while at a carnival. Realizing she has no time to wait for the police after catching sight of his captors and their vehicle, Karla engages in a high-speed pursuit to rescue her beloved child.
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After accidentally dropping her cell phone during the harrowing first few minutes of Frankie’s abduction, Karla is willing to move mountains and do anything necessary to reunite with her son as she faces off against the mysterious assailants.While in the whirlwind highway chase, Karla realizes that Frankie’s kidnapping is part of a large-scale international child abduction ring and is far more dangerous than she ever imagined. The mother makes it her mission to deliver cold, hard justice to the criminals.
‘Kidnap’ Focuses on a Mother’s Fierce Mission To Save Her Son
Halle Berry both starred in and executiveproduced the thriller,with the project hitting close to home for the actress as she is also the parent of two children, which helped her tap into the unfathomable fear and terror Karla experiencedthroughout its 95-minute run. While attending the movie’s Los Angeles premiere, Berry toldVarietywhat drew her to star inKidnapand expressed her excitement over portraying a strong female character who is more than capable of saving the day:
“Because I’m a mom, and it’s scary. I love seeing a woman, and a woman of color, get to save the day. Men save the day all the time in movies and it’s nice to see a woman do what I know women can do.”
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The fast-paced movie is jam-packed full of endless suspense,high-octane action sequences, and a powerhouse performance by Berry, with critics singling out the leading lady’s talent while taking issue with its screenplay and writing. Director Luis Prieto wanted to giveKidnapan authentic feel and elevate the daring car chase scenes that largely make up the thriller, with the filmmaker watching many chase movies from the ’80s in preparation. Prieto also told Variety in the interview:
“Back then the chases were shot for real. Today, everything that is an action scene, something that gets too complicated, a car chase, they shoot it with green screen in the studio…But we decided to shoot it for real. Like it was done before. So we got ourselves in the road with real cars, real speed, putting our real actress, not putting her in with CGI.”
Kidnapwas a modest box office success, grossing $34.8 million against a $21 million budget. Berry rightfully nabbed a nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards despite the thriller earning an overall lackluster critical response. However, moviegoers did giveKidnapa solid B+ CinemaScore. The picture may not be a cinematic work of art, but it is an exciting popcorn flick that features Berry kicking butt and taking names while showcasing the extraordinary lengths a parent will go to for their child.StreamKidnaponTubi.
