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Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

richard-1787 Most movie adaptations of novels are just that: they pick and choose scenes in the novel to present in movie form, but basically tell the same story to be found in the novel.This is not that. It does present much of what is in Stevenson's novel, yes, and rather faithfully. But it also includes a LOT that is not in the novel, scenes that Stevenson had suggested but never developed. Indeed, as others have pointed out, there are significant characters here who do not exist in the novel.I found it to be a good presentation of Stevenson's novel, and I found Assante to be a lot of fun as Alan Breck Stewart, even if he is more Erol Flynn than ABS. Viewers just have to understand that this is not solely what Stevenson wrote. For that, as others have observed, the Disney treatment from the 1960s is better.Still, this is FAR better than the BBC travesty of the novel, which is far too often unfaithful to the novel, which this really is not. It just adds a lot that is not in the original.

Cristi_Ciopron This newer adaptation is charmless, unappealing, it lacks brio, energy and gusto, the desired Scottish accent sucks, Assante is no match for Finch, nothing recommended the director for the job of adapting a Scottish swashbuckler, the women, few as they are in Stevenson's chaste universe, are banal, yet the subject and the storyline are far too strong and the dynamism of the plot is delightful; my mother called it a Scottish 'Musketeers', a thorough swashbuckler. The action scenes are exciting and dynamic, the few duels are well shot. And it can be granted to dear Assante that he does a pretty good Stewart Breck. Some actors (such as the shipmen) are well—chosen, or at least the makeup did the job.Davie Balfour of Shaws steps into a world of murderers and bandits, dreadful hieroglyphs of evil. His story has been awesomely adapted for cinema some almost 50 yrs ago, as a movie with Finch.

Warren Darcy Although this version of "Kidnapped" has a lot of swashbuckling energy going for it, there are major points in its disfavor. As other commentators have written, it adds in all sorts of needless superfluous plots that weaken Stevenson's tale. The army office Reid did not appear in RLS's novel, nor did Flora McDonald, nor did the girl with whom Davie falls in love. Yes, David Balfour does fall in love in Stevenson's sequel "Catriona," but with a different girl.In addition, Ireland does *not* look like Scotland. Nor does Armande Assante, for all his swashbuckling, look like RLS's description of Alan Breck, which was based upon historical fact. True, the movie is beautifully photographed, and the few portions that do homage to Stevenson's novel are well done. But in many respects, this film owes rather little to that novel.The only film version that respects the novel is the Walt Disney version. That one is not yet available on DVD. Go figure.

Cicero-6 Armand Assante turned in a superb performance as a Scottish loyalist in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Kidnapped." Mr. Assante was totally credible in his role as a man who would stick to the principles of truth, justice, and loyalty that the author highlighted in the novel. Any fan of Robert Louis Stevenson must definitely see this outstanding motion picture.