“Abduction” represents an interesting experiment for Hollywood. Both of Taylor Lautner’s “Twilight” co-stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, have tried to stake their claims in the multiplex without their star franchise, and both have failed. Remember “Remember Me” or “The Runaways?” Exactly.

“Abduction” was written as a starring vehicle for Lautner, which is funny, because an actual vehicle would probably have more screen presence than the former wolfboy. The young actor is a blank slate from beginning to end. Whether he’s piecing together a mystery made to stump a second-grader or getting into an impressively choreographed yet bland fight, he could be swapped out with any other beefcake Hollywood actor and it would barely be noticeable.

I’ll be kind to Lautner, though; the movie doesn’t do him any favors… The bland fighting is key to the entire film’s flaw: It’s boring! The plot, which involves Lautner’s character discovering he was abducted as a child, leading to him being thrown into a spy thriller, isn’t too terrible, but it’s cookie-cutter and feels like a committee has written it. There hasn’t been a more telegraphed action flick in theaters this year. From the beginning of the story, the key points of the film are so predictable it’s easy to guess what characters will say.

The film’s supporting cast do drag the film upward from “horrible” to “just plain not good.” Lily Collins shows a lot of promise in the few moments she gets to shine, though most of the film has her locked in a “damsel-in-distress” bubble. Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver also earn their paychecks and bring the film much closer to the realm of respectability as CIA agents who could be helping or hurting Lautner. I guess it’s nice to get insurance from a few of Hollywood’s finest when you’re staking your film on someone famous for moping, ripping off his shirt, and turning into an oversized dog.

As the movie played through, I kept noticing errors. The film as a whole isn’t poorly made, though there are some directorial decisions I thought were less than great, but a lot of little things kept popping up to create an aura of unprofessionalism. Lautner pauses an Xbox by freezing the screen, he fools around on an obviously prop laptop (which we can tell is a prop because the screen doesn’t move), a tense car chase suddenly and confusingly ends in a random explosion, and, worst of all, the tense finale takes place at PNC Park during a sold-out Pirates game. Selling out a Pirates game happens about as much as a winning MLB season.

“Abduction” wasn’t the worst film experience I’ve ever had, and it never will be. I’ve seen “The Room,” “Birdemic” and “Drive Angry 3D.” But as a breakout film for a hopeful star, it’s disappointing at best and a flop at worst. The movie opens with Lautner’s character surfing on the roof of a truck. If only he could have fallen off.