ABDUCTION (2019) * ½

Scott Adkins wakes up in a fountain in Vietnam with no memory of how he got there.  With the help of a concerned doctor (Truong Ngoc Anh), he eventually remembers his daughter was abducted by aliens from another dimension.  Andy On is a hitman whose wife (Lily Ji) was also abducted by the aliens.  Together, they team up to get their loved ones back and stop the evil extraterrestrials from taking over the world. 

Abduction is a weird hybrid of sci-fi and action that never comes close to gelling due to the fact that the plot is all over the place.  Although Adkins is top billed, it is On who does most of the heavy lifting throughout much of the movie.  The plot has them on their separate paths for the first two acts, and the constant cutting back and forth between their storylines leads to some serious narrative whiplash.  It also doesn’t help that Adkins spends a big chunk of the movie homeless and stuttering.

Once they finally team up, the film improves, although only slightly.  The fight sequence when Adkins is temporarily brainwashed by a mechanical spider that programs him to engage in Kung Fu fisticuffs against On is pretty good.  However, it really comes as too little too late.  The other fight scenes and shootouts pale in comparison to this duel, which is a highlight of the movie, but is far from Adkins’ best work. 

It also doesn’t help that the aliens are bland and stupid.  With their pasty faces barely hidden by hooded robes, they look like the Engineers from Prometheus reimagined as a Mortal Kombat character.  

Abduction is even more of a disappointment when you consider it was directed by Ernie Barbarash, who directed Adkins in the fun Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner, Assassination Games.  It was also executive produced by none other than Roger Corman.  It’s a shame the first team-up between Corman and Adkins wasn’t more memorable.  They seem like a good fit for one another.

Adkins does what he can with the material he is given, which is admirable.  I can’t fault him for trying something a little different, even if it doesn’t work.  The scenes of him wandering the streets and spouting gibberish are sort of like Bruce Willis’ character in 12 Monkeys, and Adkins looks like he’s having fun while trying to flex his acting muscles.  When it comes time to the uninspired fight scenes though, you can tell it’s just another day at the office for him.