Long before she was kicking butt as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road or playing an immortal mercenary in The Old Guard, Charlize Theron was a steady supporting player in films such as The Devil’s Advocate and The Cider House Rules. A year before she would truly cement her place in Hollywood with her Oscar winning turn in Monster, Theron was doing her best to elevate the studio fare that was being ushered her way. Luis Mandoki followed up his Jennifer Lopez romantic drama Angel Eyes with a thriller based on Greg Iles’ bestselling novel 24 Hours. The 2002 kidnapping drama Trapped found Theron eliminating all of the degrees of separation by co-starring with Kevin Bacon in this mostly forgotten film. Trapped did not fare very well upon its release either critically or financially, but I felt it was my duty as a Theron completist to check this one out when the opportunity presented itself.
The plot for this one is nothing too remarkable for the genre. In the opening scene we meet Joe Hickey (Kevin Bacon), who is right in the middle of orchestrating yet another successful kidnapping and ransom plot. If the victims play it cool and just go along with what they are told, everyone will walk away safe and sound. It is at this point we meet the Jennings household, a picture perfect family of some wealth who have just returned to their home in Portland Oregon. Dr. Will Jennings (Stuart Townsend) is a very successful research physician who is on the verge of a major medical breakthrough. Will is off to a medical conference for the weekend while his beautiful wife Karen (Charlize Theron) stays at home with their sweet daughter Abby (Dakota Fanning). It is not long before Joe appears out of nowhere to inform Karen that Abby has been taken by his crew like many girls have been before. If she sticks to his plan, everyone will soon walk away safe. Joe believes in his plan, but plans ultimately have a way of encountering obstacles. The wrench in the plan this time is that Abby suffers from asthma, and Karen is not going to be a mother who just sits back while her daughter is in danger.
The writing and characterization in this film is nothing special, but the performances at least give the movie a semblance of a spark. Theron is doing what she can to wring every ounce of nuance out of this underdeveloped character. Karen is a mom who is solely focused on the well-being of her child, and you do not get much more from her than that. The palpable disgust she has for Bacon’s Joe comes through clearly, but she does not get much room to transition out of fear or vengeance. Perhaps the most interesting scene in the film for her character is when she unexpectedly gets visited by a neighbor during the kidnapping and she has to play up her relationship with Joe. Bacon is appropriately sleazy as Joe, even though the movie seems confused at times about how we are supposed to feel about the character. There is a development halfway through the film that is supposed to give his character more nuance and possibly gain him more sympathy, but his pervy traits with Karen pretty much nullify whatever they were attempting.
The supporting cast are fine in their roles. Courtney Love plays Joe’s wife, Cheryl, and she did not annoy me as much as she usually does. I did appreciate Pruitt Taylor Vince as Marvin, the final member of Joe’s crew who is actually holding Abby hostage. He has an innocence about him that matches the mature-for-her-age Abby. I have always been a fan of Dakota Fanning, and I think she turns in the second best performance of the film in a role that she would perfect in the superior Man on Fire a couple of years later. Everyone is doing what they can, but the script is just very middle of the road. Not offensively bad, but you can guess pretty much anything that is going to happen from reading the synopsis. The director does not really do anything to bring any visual flair to the proceedings either. If you are not a hardcore fan of the talent involved, this is not an essential film to seek out. If you feel you must round out your filmography of one of the actors involved, you should find this passable, no-frills entertainment. Just do not go in expecting this to be a top tier effort from anyone involved.
Video Quality
Trapped gets a pleasing upgrade on Blu-Ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment with a 1080p master in the original aspect ratio. The transfer does not seem to be a new, polished-up master, but the basic high definition transfer provides natural film grain with only the occasional specks of damage or subtle digital anomalies. When the film first began, my heart sank at what I thought the picture quality was for this disc, but the intense grain and over saturation was a stylistic choice for that particular sequence. Once you get to the movie proper, this disc is strong despite the age of the transfer. This is not a film bursting with colors, but the world has a nice, realistic look to it. Skin tones look natural, and the presentation offers up some fairly deep black levels. The disc shows off some excellent details in most instances, but there are moments of softness present in some shots. Mill Creek Entertainment has provided an enjoyable transfer for a film that has been missing in action on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that does the trick without being too showy. Dialogue is the main driving force of the film, and there are never any issues with clarity or voices being overwhelmed by competing elements. Surround speakers get a decent workout from some engaging panning effects and ambient environmental sounds. A sequence at the end involving an airplane is well defined within the mix. There are also many instances of people calling from off screen that are effectively positioned. The score of the movie does not make much of an impact stylistically, but it is well balanced in the mix. Activity in the low end picks up during the more kinetic sequences, which makes the climax of the movie a bit more thrilling. This movie is not an all-out audio heavy hitter, but it is perfectly pleasing for the type of movie you are watching. Optional English subtitles are available.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
Trapped is a harmless enough thriller that does exactly what you expect it to do. The experience is made slightly more enjoyable by the presence of certain talented performers, but they alone cannot elevate it to something extraordinary. Mill Creek Entertainment has given this one a pretty solid A/V presentation for its Blu-Ray debut. If you do want to check this one out, it is a fairly inexpensive investment for a decent time waster.
Trapped is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Mill Creek Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
