Carjacked

The degree to which Carjacked ultimately fails to hold the viewer’s interest is rather astonishing, as the movie boasts a seemingly can’t-miss premise and two otherwise engaging performers in the central roles. The thin narrative follows Maria Bello’s Lorraine as she and her young son (Connor Hill’s Chad) are carjacked by a charismatic bank robber (Stephen Dorff’s Roy), with the film subsequently detailing the power struggle that ensues between Bello and Dorff’s respective characters. It’s a promising setup that’s employed to consistently underwhelming effect by director John Bonito, as the filmmaker, working from a script by Sherry and Michael Compton, proves unable to infuse the proceedings with even a hint of menace or suspense – with the movie’s less-than-engrossing vibe exacerbated by Bello’s oddly unconvincing performance and a continuing emphasis on hopelessly inauthentic dialogue. (This is to say nothing of the entirely pointless and laughably heavy-handed subplot revolving around Lorraine’s ongoing attempts at standing up for herself.) The small-talk-heavy atmosphere subsequently results in a palpable lack of dread or suspense, with this vibe only heightened by the viewer’s growing inability to wholeheartedly care about Lorraine’s predicament (ie there’s just nothing at stake here). By the time the ludicrously action-packed finale rolls around, Carjacked has confirmed its place as a disappointingly disposable thriller that simply isn’t as good as it could (and should) have been.

* out of ****