Never Let Go

Action movie aficionados who can't get enough of take-charge female heroes will enjoy filmmaker Howard J. Ford's Morocco-set Never Let Go, which centers on single mother Lisa Brennan (Angela Dixon), on holiday with her 5-month-old baby (the child's father is a married man of great importance). During the trip, the baby is abducted. But Lisa is a former FBI agent who employs her significant training while tracking down the kidnappers. Not surprisingly, more than a few obstacles are thrown in Lisa's path, not least being that she is implicated in a suspicious murder, but Lisa is not one to stop and argue the niceties of law. While Never Let Go seems to have taken more than a little inspiration from the popular Liam Neeson thriller Taken, the film is fueled by Ford's bravura use of Marrakech as the part-exotic, part-dangerous backdrop for Lisa's wild chase in pursuit of her missing baby. Leading lady Dixon, a British actress mostly unknown on this side of the Atlantic, invests her starring role with energy and tenacity. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)