Stolen

When I saw the title of this film, my first thought was that it must be a ripoff of “Taken.” However, being a Nicolas Cage fan, I read the synopsis and decided that the story line was different enough to give it a try. Fans of Cage’s action flicks will not be disappointed. There is plenty of fast-paced activity to keep your attention. There is also a decent plot which causes one to want to stay involved. There are no drawn-out boring sequences.

Simon West, who also directed another one of Cage’s films, Con-Air, does an excellent job of balancing story and action.

Cage’s character is a master criminal who is finally caught. Right from the start, it is easy to see that despite his willingness to steal, he loves his daughter and killing is not on his agenda. Unfortunately, not every member of his team shares his scruples.

His is ultimately forced into a situation not of his choosing and does his best not to compromise what he knows is right. Any more detail at this point would give away too much of the story.

“Stolen” is definitely a formula plot. The characters are clearly defined. Cage is the criminal that has learned his lesson, while Josh Lucas is clearly the bad guy with no conscience. Sami Gayle does not have many lines, but is convincing as Cage’s daughter.

I do have to question where the main character obtained many of his driving and fighting skills, as simply being the best thief would not necessarily explain the development of these abilities.

There is absolutely no sexual activity in this film, which was refreshing. There are some rather rude and crude comments by one of the bad guys to the female member of the team. I was pleased that these comments were confined to one person and that the woman they were directed toward responded with appropriate disgust.

As far as language goes, there are multiple uses of sh-t. The f-word is used abut 3 or 4 times. There are several other off color words and one use of GD. I would not say that the profanity was pervasive but it was there. Compared to other R-rated films, the number amount of profanity used in Stolen was mild.

There are multiple scenes of violence, but, in my opinion, nothing that was gratuitous or disturbing. There was surprisingly little blood. All was in context, and I was glad that the language and violence did not appear to have simply been added to attract an audience.

The item that stood out for me was the love that Cage’s character, Will Montgomery, has for his daughter. For this reason alone, I recommend this film. In addition, the main character’s desire to change his ways and redeem the broken relationship with her is commendable.

I really did enjoy this film and would add it to my list of Cage favorites. If you are looking for a squeaky clean film, this is not it, but if you can get past a few bad words and momentary sexual comments, I believe that a majority of Christians would say this is an entertaining film.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Mild

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