not feeling well last night (sunday 31 Jan 2016) nothing interesting on TV, so thought a movie with nicholas cage, josh lucas and a few other well know actors would be fun. thankfully i did not see this atrocity when it was initially released in theatres for $15/ticket! it was mind boggling - where to begin? the story itself was ridiculous, the action was childish & cartoonish, all the actors were heavy handed and amateurish and after a while, i realized i was watching a developing train wreck. would love to know who the executive was that green-lighted this production, because he/she should no longer be anywhere near a position of responsibility in any way shape or form in the movie business, maybe producing commercials for TV. i honestly can't see how any of the actors could overcome this blemish on their resumes to even be considered for future roles. although i'm sure Hollywood, which lives in its own head, will continue making moronic movies such as this. so, to answer why i watched till the end? i love movies and was hoping that somehow this movie would turn around, but alas, it was just as stupid at the end as it was in the beginning!!!!

With the trendy "kidnapped daughter" plot, stolen from Taken's playbook, Nicolas Cage once again disappoints in his all new movie made of mediocrities and no appeal. Everything barely holds together, plenty of inconsistencies plagued the story and while it tries to offer minimal excitement, it turns into a boring mess. Bordering on comical, it also has contrasting serious tone, which is delivered in a heavy handed manner. This creates strange performance, especially on some parts, and leaves me wondering whether it's made in the '90s.Stolen uses many uninspiring elements to glue itself, although the soundtrack is catchy enough. Will Montgomery (Nicolas Cage) is an ex-con, a thief who had a job gone bad, now he aims to save her daughter and turns his life around, on screen, not real life. The problem is there are many odd plots that just don't make sense and rely too much on coincidences. Furthermore, the movie tries to pave for some clever twists, but unfortunately they come off predictable or just unimpressive. Nicolas Cage does his trademark angst and desperation, with bits of longing for redemption, quite like he did in Con-Air, also carrying plushie doll for his daughter.Josh Lucas got the lousy part as Vincent, the one legged antagonist. He doesn't look right, creepy in a ridiculous kind of way. Someone who has a modern peg leg, abnormal amount of fingers and is probably high the entire time, is more goofy than daunting. He deteriorates even more in latter part, almost mimicking Jason Voorhees. The rest of the cast are plain and mostly have the durability of only one elbow from Nicolas Cage, or simply a pretty eye candy.Without anything special and mundane parts cobbled together forcefully, Stolen will shamelessly take your time and money, then leave you with only regret.

The revenge plot has been done to death. Kidnapping the protagonist's daughter has been done to death. Everything about this movie has been done before, and done much, much better. This is just another extortion movie where the former friend of a former bank robber wants his share of the heist, and kidnaps the hero's (Nicolas Cage) daughter as ransom. The thing is, Cage burned the money. So how is he going to pay this lunatic? Well, he's gotta commit one more heist for it to be all over. Sound predictable? That's because it is.Every beat of this movie is predictable. It wouldn't be so bad if they added some depth to the characters but everything is so one-dimensional. Will (Nicolas Cage) loves his daughter and used to rob banks - that's all we get as far as character development. Vincent (played by Josh Lucas) wants money. They both were involved with a robbery gone wrong at the start of the film and Will burned the money before being arrested and jailed for eight years, but Vincent still wants his share. He waited eight years to exact his revenge. Eight. And the diabolical plan he came up with during that time is to kidnap Will's daughter and threaten to kill her if he doesn't get paid. It's like the writers weren't even trying.What the writers do is explain EVERYTHING that's happening to the audience. They spoon-feed everything with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and this constitutes about 90% of the dialogue: Explaining what you are seeing on screen. The other 10% is forced relationships and throwaway police banter. It's really stupid. Watching the movie on mute is probably much more entertaining.Let's talk about the villain for a minute because he's really quite a character, or caricature rather. He has no personality whatsoever so they give him all of these weird traits to mask the fact that he's boring as all f*ck. A metal stick for a leg, long messy hair, a rugged shady look, a twisted sense of morals, and he's a cab driver. It's like baby's first psychopath. Now I don't blame Josh Lucas for this at all, in fact he makes the character watchable, but not even good acting can save the villain from being a walking, talking cliché. The police are just stupid in this. Stupider than usual in fact. They're not even worth talking about. All you need to know is that you know what you're getting into with this movie before it even starts and it gives you absolutely no surprises or suspense. It's a by-the-numbers action thriller with Nicolas Cage. It has a few funny moments sure, most are unintentional, but if you're hoping that this would at least be a fun, over-the-top Nicolas Cage action movie, then I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed. Stolen is overwhelmingly and sometimes painfully average.

Great movie? Nah... Fun to watch just the same? yea! Here's what it comes down to.. do you like Nick Cage? If you do, watch the movie, you'll enjoy it. Beats an a couple hours of work. Don't like Nick Cage, than I'd pass.I actually found a few of the scenes, especially in the beginning, very engaging and exciting. The dialog could use some serious help, but if you can overlook this, it's not a horrible way to spend an 1.5hrs.I've seen a lot worse with much higher ratings here on IMDb.COM.If you're looking for a fun to watch action film with one of Hollywood's A-listers, look no further.