10 "New" Movies That Just Ended Up Ripping Things Off

6. Kidnap Is Halle Berry's Taken

Kidnap Halle Berry
Aviron Pictures

Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of Halle Berry's latest thriller, though it's apparent from the lazy title alone that this was clearly intended to be the female answer to Liam Neeson's ultra-successful Taken franchise.

Much like Neeson's movie, Kidnap sees Berry playing a mother desperate to rescue her kidnapped son by any means necessary. Though Berry's protagonist may not have a Special Set of Skills beyond being a hella-scorned mother, it's clear the movie was crafted to appeal to the same type of audience through and through.

Berry has insisted in interviews that the movie's female empowerment angle distinguishes it enough from Taken, but is that really enough to account for the movie's transparent attempt to cash-in on both the easily-marketable nature of a Taken knock-off, and the recent surge in gender-flipped movie franchises?

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.