When 16-year-old Taylor Lautner was cast as lovesick Jacob Black in the first Twilight film, media attention focused on Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and their sizzling chemistry.

Then Lautner gained 30lb in muscle to convincingly portray Jacob’s transformation into a snarling werewolf.

Overnight, the young actor became a sex symbol and gained a following to rival his co-stars.

Lautner strikes out on his own in the action-packed thriller Abduction, in which he attempts to prove that he’s much more than a pretty face with washboard abs.

Alas, he’s picked a dud.

John Singleton’s film boasts turbo-charged chases and fight sequences but Shawn Christensen’s script is littered with unintentionally hilarious interludes and some excruciating dialogue.

High school student Nathan Harper (Lautner) thinks he has the perfect life with caring parents Kevin (Jason Isaacs) and Mara (Maria Bello).

Yet something is amiss.

While researching a school project on missing children, Nathan discovers that he bears an uncanny resemblance to the age-modified image of a boy who went missing many years ago.

“If this is real, then who are those people living in your house?” asks next-door neighbour Karen (Lily Collins), the object of Nathan’s smouldering affections.

Before Nathan has a chance to learn the truth from his parents, assassins slay Kevin and Mara and the teenager goes on the run with Karen in tow, aided by best friend Gilly (Denzel Whitaker). Then shadowy CIA Agent Burton (Alfred Molina) makes contact with Nathan and warns the teenager that he is a pawn in a dastardly plot.

Predictable twists in the plot culminate in a final showdown that is tarred by yet more syrupy sentiment.