Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals.
Ransom is a solid mid-90s thriller elevated by Mel Gibson's committed, intense performance as the desperate father who flips the script on his son's kidnappers. The plot twist of turning the ransom into a bounty is genuinely engaging and gives the film a distinctive hook that sets it apart from standard kidnapping thrillers. Ron Howard's direction is competent and tense but unremarkable cinematographically. The supporting cast including Gary Sinise as the villain is effective. The ending, however, deflates somewhat into conventional action-thriller territory, losing the psychological tension that made the middle act compelling. Overall a well-above-average genre piece but not a landmark film.