Movie Review - Carjacked

Movie: Carjacked

Rating: 3-Stars

Having recently separated from her abusive ex-husband, Lorraine (Maria Bello) is driving home with her young son Chad (Connor Hill) after a session with her support group. Needing fuel for her beater and dinner for both her and Chad she pulls into a gas station. It is clear that she has little control over anything in her life. That's when Roy (Stephen Dorff) appears in her back seat with a loaded gun, and demands that Lorraine starts driving. Roy is a bank robber who's just pulled off a major heist. He's on his way to pick up his money, but with the cops everywhere he's sure to be caught if he goes it alone.

When he asks her if she knows the way to the highway she indicates that she thinks so. He quickly explains to Lorraine that he doesn’t like ambiguity and she tells him that her therapist thinks she is too ambiguous and that is why her life is a mess.

Their 3 hour journey makes several stops along the way and although Roy assures the terrified mother that he will not harm them if they do what he asks, Lorraine begins to suspect they will both be killed once Roy gets his cash. She tries everything to get away. She offers up a police officer at a road block a picture of her family clearly excluding Roy but the officer doesn’t get the hint. She tries speeding to attract a police officer attention and even mouthwash as a pepper spray alternative. Nothing works and they are both trapped.

While refueling again she sees a chance to save her son and tells him to go to the bathroom, then mix with the crowd of children, and get on the bus. Roy quickly discovers he has been had as the bus drives away and he can see Chad sitting in the window.Angered by Lorraine’s deception and lying he locks her in the trunk. She manages to create a hole in the side of the car so she can see and hear what is happening outside.

Reaching the ranch where Roy planned to meet up with one of his accomplices the whole proves useful and she witnesses that the money isn’t there but at a factory. Roy angered by the revelation loses his temper and murders his accomplice.

He quickly puts his dead accomplice in the trunk with Lorraine and sets the car ablaze leaving her to burn alive. Quick thinking saves her life when finds a gun on the accomplices dead body which she uses to shoot the lock on the trunk.

Relieved that she is finally free she begins the task of tracking down her son. She ends up at a truck stop and with no money or cell phone where she begs the clerk for 50 cents to make a call. While on the phone with the police that have her son she witnesses Roy kidnap a mother and daughter.

Determined not to let another family suffer the same fate she takes the law into her own hands and steals a truck and begins pursuing Roy. In a spectacular chase she temporarily disables Roy’s new transportation long enough for the other family to escape and when her truck is destroyed in a spectacular crash takes the upper hand and insists at gun point that Roy take her to the money.

Roy takes control by disarming her once they get to the factory and she narrowly escapes.  Not out of the woods yet she finds herself back in the car with Roy shooting at her. With nothing to lose she runs Roy down. A police officer now on scene quickly orders her out of the car. Before she can explain what was happening Roy appears from the back of the car and guns down the police officer. 

Roy is now looking for any excuse to kill her and tells her to go for the gun at her feet. He goes so far as to shoot her in the leg to bring her closer. Little does Roy know she still had the accomplice’s gun in her belt and quickly fires a shoot into Roy’s chest.

Next we see Lorraine she recovered from her wounds and in court for a custody hearing. A newly confident Lorraine wins not only custody but child support from her unhappy ex-husband. While walking out she takes Chad out for lunch and explains he can have pizza. When he asks if he can have ice cream too his Grandma shares that she found the duffle bag and thinks he can have both if he wants.