Gerard Butler is a successful advertising executive, married to Maria Bello and with a young daughter. They are off out one night when Pierce Brosnan suddenly pops up in the back seat of their car, brandishes a gun and tells them that unless they do what he tells them they will never see their daughter again. He then proceeds to make them jump through a series of humiliating and harmful hoops for no apparent reason.
Ultimately there is a reason, and it doesn't cheat the audience. The twist (a double twist) is guessable but not obvious and, when it comes, defuses a number of the "Hang on a minute..." reservations which have built up during most of the film.
The film works, just about - I was just starting to get a bit bored with them being bounced about for no apparent reason when the film finally moved on.
Brosnan and Bello are both good: Butler is a bit annoying (perhaps it is just his character). I found myself wondering what the film would have been like had Brosnan and Butler each played the other part.
Ultimately there is a reason, and it doesn't cheat the audience. The twist (a double twist) is guessable but not obvious and, when it comes, defuses a number of the "Hang on a minute..." reservations which have built up during most of the film.
The film works, just about - I was just starting to get a bit bored with them being bounced about for no apparent reason when the film finally moved on.
Brosnan and Bello are both good: Butler is a bit annoying (perhaps it is just his character). I found myself wondering what the film would have been like had Brosnan and Butler each played the other part.