Abandon

Play trailer

Abandon

PG-13

2002

1h 39m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

16%

Tomatometer

111 Reviews

31%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A psychological thriller about a senior (Katie Holmes) at one of America's most prestigious universities. Under enormous pressure to complete her thesis and earn a top job at one of the world's most competitive consulting firms, Katie is still coping with the sudden unexplained disappearance of her first love two years prior. As the investigation continues, Katie is forced to choose between past passions and new possibilities, even as new facts are uncovered.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

The plotline for Abandon is too disjointed and muddled to offer much in the way of thrills.

Read Critics Reviews

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Holmes, best known for the TV teen drama Dawson's Creek, flounders in the role like a child in her father's overcoat.

Feb 12, 2020

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

It really is almost impressive how bad this is.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 2, 2010

Full Review

Scott Von Doviak

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

Meandering and glacially paced, and often just plain dull.

Jan 8, 2003

Full Review

Joel Siegel

Good Morning America

Ultimately, it's a suspense thriller in dire need of more suspense and more thrills.

Rated: C+

Jan 4, 2018

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

A dull, pretentious, and godly dreary pseudo-thriller...

Apr 29, 2009

Full Review

Michael Dequina

TheMovieReport.com

A flimsy and tedious thriller.

Rated: 1/4

Jan 2, 2009

Full Review

Read all reviews

Blu B

It's bad....solidly bad. The editing is terrible and the pacing is horrifically bad. This is about her getting the consulting job, than the romance with the cop which is so poorly done and jumpy it's kind of bizarre, than the dude who was murdered, than some other stuff, than she's crazy.....just like what? And yet somehow it's soooooo boring the longer it goes. It feels like 2 seperate films about the murder/missing investigation (I'm not sure which, it's not clear) and her dealing with college stuff. But the longer it goes the more murky and completely incoherent it gets. The twist is...kind of cool and saves it somewhat but I still don't get how someone could get that because it's so poory done. The music is boring, generic, and forgettable and everything else isn't good. Holmes is like one step above a final girl in a slasher movie in terms of ehr performance. Bratt is alright but he's barely in it it feels like. The direction isn't good either and it has a weird blue color filter in some scenes that's weird. The scenes are just dull to look at and weighed down by clunky dialouge also. Even though it makes no sense, the ending KIND OF makes up for it as I didn't see it coming and if this was done A LOT better probably would be good and was a suprise. But still....Skip this.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/19/25

Full Review

ira m

The only good thing about this movie is I get to see Katie Holmes

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/04/23

Full Review

angela g

better than i expect this movie to be i like the acting in this movie the story was good the twist was good i like the movie

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I should have abandoned this after the first 30 minutes.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Was I watching Joey, Katie, or Katie? Same person. Confused girl throws crooked smiles and doesn't try to enunciate anything. Oh and the plot just as lacking as her character.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The movie was 1.5 hours long but it felt like an eternity. So painfully slow that I almost didn't finish it. And the end was just predictable and unsatisfying.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Stephen Gaghan

Director

Katie Holmes

Katie

Benjamin Bratt

Detective Wade Handler

Charlie Hunnam

Embry

Zooey Deschanel

Samantha

Gabrielle Union

Amanda

View more videos

Enough

22%

67%

Enough

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Enough

The Forgotten

31%

36%

The Forgotten

Watchlist

Runaway Jury

73%

75%

Runaway Jury

Watchlist

Clear and Present Danger

81%

74%

Clear and Present Danger

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Clear and Present Danger

Wicker Park

27%

79%

Wicker Park

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A psychological thriller about a senior (Katie Holmes) at one of America's most prestigious universities. Under enormous pressure to complete her thesis and earn a top job at one of the world's most competitive consulting firms, Katie is still coping with the sudden unexplained disappearance of her first love two years prior. As the investigation continues, Katie is forced to choose between past passions and new possibilities, even as new facts are uncovered.

Director: Stephen Gaghan
Producer: Lynda Obst, Roger Birnbaum, Edward Zwick, Gary Barber
Screenwriter: Stephen Gaghan
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Bedford Falls Productions, Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Lynda Obst Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Drug Content|Alcohol Content|Language|Sexuality|Some Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.7M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Most Popular at Home Now