While millionaire airline magnate Tom Mullen and his wife Kate attend a science fair, their son Sean is kidnapped and taken to an apartment by Maris Conner, a caterer working for the Mullens; brothers Clark and Cubby Barnes; and tech expert Miles Roberts. Jimmy Shaker, an NYPD detective who is Maris' boyfriend, leads the operation.
The kidnappers send Tom and Kate a video of Sean demanding $2 million. Tom calls the FBI, who operate from his NYC penthouse under Special Agent Lonnie Hawkins.
Tom agrees to the FBI's plan for delivering the ransom. Receiving a phone call from Shaker, who electronically disguises his voice, Tom follows his instructions. He meets Cubby in a New Jersey quarry but refuses to hand over the money when Cubby does not give him the kidnapper's promised directions to Sean.
During the ensuing fight, the FBI shoots Cubby, who dies before revealing Sean's location. Tom realizes the kidnapper has no intention of returning Sean alive. Appearing on television, he presents the money with a warning he would not only refuse to pay the kidnappers, but offers the ransom money as a bounty on the kidnapper, dead or alive. Tom promises to withdraw the bounty and drop all charges only if the kidnapper returns Sean alive and unharmed. With a target on their back, Maris and Clark consider killing Sean and burying the body, but Shaker threatened them and ordered them to stay the course.
Shaker lures Kate to a meeting where he assaults her and presents Sean's blood-stained T-shirt as a warning to pay the ransom, but Tom responds by doubling the bounty to $4 million. Shaker calls him to give him one final warning to pay, but he still refuses. Infuriated, Shaker fires a gunshot in a wall after Tom hears Sean scream for help, leading Sean's parents to believe he is dead.
Clark and Miles attempt to abandon the plan and flee, but Shaker, still determined to claim the ransom, requests police backup claiming to have found the kidnappers then kills both men. When Maris shoots him in the arm from behind, he kills her as well. The NYPD arrives to find Shaker with a badly beaten Sean, bound and eyes duct-taped over, while believing Shaker rescued Sean. Tom and Kate reunite with their son, while Shaker is hospitalized.
Shaker arrives at Tom's penthouse to claim the reward. However, both Sean and Tom recognize his voice and expressions as the kidnapper. Exposed, Shaker plans to kill everyone in the apartment if Tom attempts a double cross, but Tom persuades him to accompany him to the bank to get the money and leave peacefully. On the way, Tom discreetly alerts Hawkins, and the police and FBI converge on Tom and Shaker outside the bank.
As soon as Tom and Shaker exit the bank, two police officers attempt to detain Shaker, who shoots them. Tom knocks him to the ground, they struggle and hurl each other through a store window. Tom holds Shaker at gunpoint as the police and Hawkins arrive.
In desperation, Shaker draws another gun from his ankle-holster but is shot dead by Tom and Hawkins. Police rush in to arrest Tom, but Hawkins orders them to stand down. Tom is allowed to leave the scene with Kate.
Cast
Mel Gibson as Tom Mullen, a wealthy airline magnate determined to save his son
For its opening weekend, Ransom collected a total gross of $34.2 million, beating out Romeo + Juliet and Set It Off to secure the number one spot.[6] Upon its debut, it had the second-highest opening weekend for a Disney film, behind The Lion King, as well as the company's largest live-action opening weekend, surpassing the previous record held by The Rock five months earlier.[7] The film held the latter record until the opening of Armageddon in July 1998.[8]Ransom also achieved the third-highest November opening weekend, after Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Interview with the Vampire.[9] It would hold the record for having the highest opening weekend for a Ron Howard film for four years until 2000 when it was taken by How the Grinch Stole Christmas.[10] Although it was overtaken by Space Jam in its second weekend, Ransom would still make $22.3 million and outgross newcomer The Mirror Has Two Faces.[11]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 74 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.The website's consensus reads: "Directed with propulsive intensity by Ron Howard, Ransom is a fiery thriller packed with hot-blooded performances and jolting twists."[12]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[14]
Critic Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "Gibson gives an interesting performance, showing a man trying to think his way out of a crisis, and Sinise makes a good foil: Here are two smart men playing a game with deadly stakes."[15]
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