Trap

Josh Hartnett is Cooper, who manages to get tickets for the big Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan) concert as a reward for his daughter Riley’s (Ariel Donoghue) good grades. As the day draws on Cooper begins to smell a rat as he spots the extra security, increased FBI activity and people getting dragged away from their seats. This is Trap, the story of which is loosely based on the infamous Operation Flagship. 

The first half of the film is good, there is a visceral sense of claustrophobia and of the net drawing in. We start off all giddy with excitement, going through the usual angst and turmoil of a teenage girls life, then things take a turn. Director M. Night Shyamalan builds the tension and sense of unease to great effect, putting you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen. After all this good build up things get very silly in the second half, in such a ridiculous manner that it is unintentionally entertaining. Cooper knows a trap has been set and tries his utmost to get out the concert without being collared. The stakes and the situations mount, but whatever scrapes he finds himself in he worms his way out of scott free. 

Josh Hartnett is one of the main draws, he is good as the increasingly unhinged wrongun with a Tintin like ability to get out of scrapes, and he looks like he had a ball. Jonathan Langdon is a hoot as Jamie, the likeable idiot selling merch. But otherwise Trap strains credulity, is very stupid and ends in an awful way, but it has the good graces to be fast paced and is fun, as long as you do not take it too seriously and are not easily annoyed. Heavily caveated enjoyment.

5/10