Halle Berry delivers an 81-minute adrenaline rush as a pissed-off single mom in a minivan in “Kidnap” (Universal, Blu-ray $19.99 today, Oct. 31).
The film is a great plug for the Hummer-like in-destructive-ness of minivans, as Berry’s character Karla drives the hell out of this thing in relentless pursuit of the couple in a beat-up old-model Mustang who swiped her son from a park while Karla is on a phone call arguing with her ex about full custody of the boy.
Luckily she sees a woman loaded her son in the car and runs to try to stop her but unluckily she drops her cell phone while being dragged alongside of the car as it speeds out of the parking lot.
Luckily she manages to get in her minivan in time to chase the Mustang, but without the cell phone or any kind of weapon, she can do little more than try to keep up with the kidnappers, which she does by making some daring maneuvers on city streets and open highways.
Those driving maneuvers make for an intensely exciting chase lasting more than an hour. Just when it seems like it is starting to stretch the bounds of credibility, director Luis Prieto manages to introduce something just plausible enough to keep you from rolling your eyes. For instance, about the time you begin wondering where the police are, a motorcycle cop shows up but is removed from the pursuit when the couple in the Mustang squeeze him between their car and Karla’s.
“Kidnap” delivers the most exciting 81-minutes of escape entertainment you’re likely to find on your TV this fall.
The Blu-ray includes the short making-of featurette “A Look Inside Kidnap” featuring comments from Berry, Prieto, and 2nd Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator Steven Ritzi.
— By Scott Hettrick