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Abandon
Paramount Pictures


6.6

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 9 votes
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FILM:

Syriana

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for drug and alcohol content, sexuality, some violence and language

Starring Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt, Charlie Hunnam, Zooey Deschanel, Melanie Lynskey, Gabrielle Union, Fred Ward, and Will McCormack

A psychological thriller about a college student (Holmes) haunted by visions of her first love, who disappeared two years earlier.

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Stephen Gaghan
DIRECTED BY:	Stephen Gaghan
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 18, 2003 Video: March 18, 2003 Theatrical: October 18, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	99 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

The biggest surprise may be what the filmmaker doesn't show; he withholds a big dramatic payoff, so the audience must fill in the blanks.

Entertainment Weekly Bruce Fretts

Sometimes, typecasting works: Holmes and Bratt settle comfortably into their roles, and the movie proves a competently made, mildly diverting collegiate thriller -- at least until its all-too-predictable ''twist'' ending.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Ellen A. Kim

Holmes ably handles the starring role, but the handsome Bratt doesn't have enough material to cement his film career. The supporting cast is strong.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A moody, effective thriller for about 80 percent of the way, and then our hands close on air. If you walk out before the ending, you'll think it's better than it is.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Has the integrity of good dialogue and enough of a writer's preserved craftiness to make it a worthwhile date-night attraction.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Abandon tags Katie Holmes as a talented actor with surprising range and vast, untapped potential - so much, in fact, that watching her, one can almost overlook the film's many flaws. Almost.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Don't abandon Abandon. In the movies' long weekly line-up, it stands apart -- innocent of banality, and guilty of nothing more damning than intelligent effort that falls a tad short.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Too much of this well-acted but dangerously slow thriller feels like a preamble to a bigger, more complicated story, one that never materializes.

San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel

A disjointed movie with uneven acting and too many scenes that defy belief.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Aiming to elicit a last-minute shiver from the audience, Gaghan is likely to get instead a mood-destroying giggle.

Village Voice Ed Park

Hardly a nuanced portrait of a young woman's breakdown, the film nevertheless works up a few scares, particularly a tense call-number hunt in the library stacks.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Gaghan shows promise as a director, but Abandon leaves a lot of room for improvement.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

A thriller wrapped in heavy-duty gauze to muffle the chills.

TV Guide Ken Fox

The story's rhythm is so bogged down in unnecessary characterization that the film can hardly breathe.

USA Today Mike Clark

Holmes, of Dawson's Creek, will be up the creek if she can't avoid movies like this. And so will you if you see it.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Abandon is this CLOSE to being good, juicy, bad-movie fun.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

With the flat characters and lifeless performances, it's a wonder that anyone in the audience can stay awake all the way through this dull and dreary production.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

Has a few pleasing stylistic flourishes and a potentially Hitchcockian plot, but the writing and rhythm are so off that when the final "shocker" arrives, we have seen it coming or have abandoned caring.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

A trite psychological thriller -- all buildup and no payoff, a mystery that essentially offers only two alternative solutions, which diminishes the element of surprise and strings the viewer along way past caring which possibility proves to be true.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Crossing "A Beautiful Mind" with "Sex Kittens Go to College," first-time director Stephen Gaghan (he wrote Traffic) causes a head-on collision.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Passably interesting psychological study of emotionally wounded characters until it commits dramatic suicide by showing its true colors as a tricked-up "Fatal Attraction" wannabe.

Austin Chronicle Steve Davis

What hath "The Sixth Sense" wrought? These days, it seems as if every psychological thriller has a surprise finish.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

This alleged thriller, which might be described as "'Gaslight' Goes to College," is one of the most incoherent features in recent memory.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Stephen Gaghan, who scripted this turkey, landed in the director's chair after Edward Zwick (Glory) bailed out, and you can almost smell the flop sweat.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

A confusing mishmash.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Consider the title your best advice.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Danielle R. gave it a3:
While Abandon is a film that has somewhat pleasing cinematography and a gorgeous actress, it fails to fully develop as a story, and it leaves some questions and mass confusion running in the viewers head. While many films use subtlety when it comes to some major points (ex: the original Stepford wifes, at the climax), the subtlety is too subtle in the end. It left me a little bit unsure of exactly what happened. I saw this movie in the theater with a friend simply because we wanted to see something and could not see The Ring, and it's a decision I truly regret. I do not usually have a negative opinion of a film, but this one managed to wrench one from me.

Chris H. gave it a 10:
Brilliant.

Matt M. gave it a 4:
Though the film seems to have potential, especially since it builds and builds and, well, builds..., it never completely woes the viewer. While the acting is barely tolerable, and the story cliched and predictable, some of the visuals are stunning, but then again, some aren't - such as the truly strange scene where the lighting is flickering extremely rapidly while Katie H. has hallucinations. If you are a serious movie-goer and critic, abandon Abandon, but if you are out for a "date flick," then it could provide a bit of fun.

Mike W. gave it an 8:
I think it is safe to say Miss Katie has outdone herself, but the real brake through performance is Zooey Deschanel who from the beginning steels the movie in every scene she is in. Applause this beautifully crafted slow-paced triller. *** out of **** stars in my book!

Gilbert gave it a 6:
Ooh, it's nearly good. Unfortunately, there's a very fine line between serious and stupid, and Abandon ends up tripping over it. Rent it on video instead.

Eric S. gave it a 10:
There are scenes in "Abandon" so full of energy and brilliance that they would work on their own separate planes. There are characters so daringly distant that we can't help but be intrigued by them. And there is a revelation so well-revealed that I felt a chill go up my spine comparable to the one I got during 'The Sixth Sense.' Critics bashing this film are naive: realizing every element is only appreciated when looked at individually. Stephen Gaghon's "Abandon" is remarkable in that it illustrates textbook usage of everything a film of its depth should It's the kind of first feature I'd like to make.

Abandon Paramount Pictures

Abandon
Paramount Pictures