UnowPriceless
hyped garbage
Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
classicsoncall
The passage of time has not been kind to this film. It was an IMDb Top 250 member back in 1996 but has fallen to a 6.6 rating as I write this. Personally, I don't get the low ranking. There are a handful of reviewers here who knock it for plot holes left unnamed, whereas I concentrate on a film to look for them and I really couldn't detect anything in the story line that didn't maintain a continuity toward the eventual resolution. One might challenge Tom Mullen's (Mel Gibson) decision to up the stakes against kidnapper Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise), but if I were Mullen, I think I might have gone for the same gambit. The clue Tom Mullen picked up from Cubby Barnes (Donnie Wahlberg) convinced him that this wasn't a straight ransom demand and that his son was probably marked for death anyway. The surprise if any is that Mullen's wife (Rene Russo) went along with his decision after initial misgivings. The scene that could have been handled better was when Shaker showed up at Mullen's apartment and Sean (Brawley Nolte) recognized his voice. The cutting back and forth between Tom and his son didn't do enough in my estimation to tip Tom off that Shaker was the kidnap mastermind. It was Shaker's own greed that provided the tip-off, which goes to show that the desire for even more money was his own undoing. If one wants to criticize any aspect of the story, I'd look at Tom Mullen's commitment to honoring ten times the ransom demand; how much more would that have been than the bribe to avert a machinist strike at his company?
harryumitchell
Like this one. Always have. Always will.Gibson. Lindo. Russo. Great supporting cast. It's not as good as a few other kidnap trillers, like say, Prisoners, but it's a very entertaining film.
merem1
An intense kidnapping thriller with a great performance by Mel Gibson. Excellent work by the director of the film, Ron Howard. The film has a great story with characters you feel sorry for. The villain is played very well by actor Gary Sinise, he was great in the film as Jimmy Shaker, the leader of the kidnappers. The film is really suspenseful. The ending is tense and satisfying. The music is great, by James Horner. Rest in Peace Mr Horner. That line from Mel Gibson "GIVE ME BACK MY SON!". that part never gets old, its awesome. It is one of my favourite movies from the 1990's. I might watch it again soon.
slightlymad22
After being reminded how good an actor Mel Gibson can be in Expendables 3, I have decided to revisit some of his earlier work. This time around i decided to watch 1996's Ransom. I saw this in the cinema when it was released, but for some reason I have never revisited it. And I had totally forgotten how good this movie is!! All the cast are superb. I cannot praise them highly enough here. Gibson who has contributed some tough fisted, hard as nails characters over the years is perfect as the vulnerable panic stricken father. Re teaming with Gibson after Lethal Weapon 3 is Rene Russo who is excellent as the desperate mother. Gary Sinese, Delroy Lindo, Donnie Whalberg, Liev Shrieber and Paul Guilfoyle are all solid support. There is not one weak link in the castRon Howard has directed a movie that is a highly professional piece of work, swift and suspenseful, with a good sense of pace and atmosphere it makes for perfect entertainment.Gibson is truly a great actor, and hopefully he can sort his personal problems and demons out, because as we all know Hollywood loves comebacks.
