Review of Ransom (1996) by Filipeneto — 29 Dec 2019

A simple, predictable film and where the best are the good performances of Gibson and Sinise.

This movie is quite simple: A group of criminals kidnap the young son of a businessman who is being prosecuted on a bribery charge demanding two million dollars in ransom. The entire movie is basically set in the family drama surrounding kidnapping and the father's attempts to get his son back safe and sound.

The movie works reasonably. It starts off very well, but the final part is pretty bad, predictable and unrealistic. It all rests on the backs of Mel Gibson and Gary Sinise, two very capable actors who were very effective in their respective roles, managing to give a certain dramatic depth to a film that would have far less quality without them. In fact, the characters of the two actors are classic antagonists to each other, in that they are all that the other is not and are destined to face an epic and climactic final confrontation. The rest of the actors have less visible characters who provide the necessary support: Rene Russo is quite good, even when hysterical. Lillie Taylor is dark and looks a bit sadistic, while Liev Schreiber and Donnie Wahlberg have poorly made characters who look totally amateur in the criminal world. Delroy Lindo, meanwhile, did what he could, but his character also seems totally lost and unsure what to do in most of the movie.

Ron Howard did a good job of driving, but he could have done better and noticed some problems he didn't. Personally, I think the movie has some rhythm problems: not only does the abduction happen too early, preventing us from establishing a bond of empathy with the kidnapped child, but the role of Sinise's character in the young man's disappearance could have been revealed closer to her. end of the movie. The choices made here took strength and impact out of the entire movie, as we already knew everything that was going to happen.