Ransom
This movie begins with airline owner Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson) hosting a party at his swank New York City apartment. The party is being held to unveil his latest commercial which gives background inform…
Ransom
This movie begins with airline owner Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson) hosting a party at his swank New York City apartment. The party is being held to unveil his latest commercial which gives background information on how Tom became a self-made multi-millionaire airline entrepreneur. Interspersed with this is a montage of a group of kidnappers setting up a lair designed to hold a hostage. Later, Tom and his wife Kate (Rene Russo) and his son Sean (Brawley Nolte) attend a science fair in Central Park that Kate is a judge at. During this fair, Tom's son Sean wanders away and is kidnapped by a group of criminals, comprised of Maris Conner (Lili Taylor), a caterer working for the Mullens, along with criminal brothers Clark (Liev Schreiber) and Cubby Barnes (Donnie Wahlberg), as well as tech expert Miles Roberts (Evan Handler). They throw him in the back of a white van and drive off. Tom and Kate quickly realize their son is missing and frantically begin to search for him. The kidnappers get in touch with the Mullens with a video message. The video is of Sean, blindfolded and chained up to a bed. An individual whose voice is electronically disguised demands $2 million in ransom, and threatens to have Sean killed if the police or the media are informed of what's happening. Even though the message said not to, Tom and Kate decide that someone must be alerted. They call up the FBI, who show up under the guise of being a crew of carpenters who come to do renovation on the Mullens' penthouse, led by agent Lonnie Hawkins (Delroy Lindo). Hawkins asks if Tom and Kate want to negotiate or give in to the ransom demands, and finds that the two already have two suitcases all prepared for a hand-off, awaiting further instructions from the kidnappers. Meanwhile, at the hideout in Brooklyn, Cubby takes sympathy on the kidnapped Sean and decides to pop down to a nearby bodega to buy some videotapes and cereal for him. When he goes there to shop, the NYPD are conducting an investigation on a detained thief who tried to rob the place. As Detective Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise) and his partner interview the thief, he eyes Cubby suspiciously. After seeing his partner and the detained thief off, Jimmy tails Cubby to the kidnapper's hideout. Sneaking in, he passes the locked room with Sean inside and rousts Cubby by putting a gun to his head. As it turns out, Jimmy is actually the ringleader of the kidnappers and chides Cubby for his overt recklessness, and he's lucky that none of the other cops at the bodega thought it suspicious that he, someone with a long criminal record, was buying kids' cereal. Back at Tom's penthouse, he confesses to Hawkins that a former union head of the machinist union may have had an involvement with the kidnapping of his son. Tom confides that he bribed the union president to call off a strike and the president went to jail while Tom escaped prosecution. Hawkins arranges a jailhouse meeting between Tom and the union leader in prison, but it is apparent from the meeting that the former union president had nothing to do with the kidnapping. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy calls, using a scrambler to disguise his voice, with instructions regarding the drop-off of the ransom money. While on the phone, the FBI hit a major snag when they are unable to get a lock on the kidnapper's location due to technical scrambling on Jimmy's part. The FBI suggests that their 'double' for Tom make the drop, but Tom insists he do it himself. He is also set up with a wire to record any conversations. Tom reaches a specific street location, and his car's cellular phone then directs him to a gym. Jimmy instructs Tom to take the money with him, and dive into the gym's swimming pool to retrieve a locker-room key. This move short-circuits the wire Tom is wearing, destroying the FBI's planted mechanism. Tom then finds the locker, and a radio, which instructs him to put on some clothes provided in the locker, and put the money in two large duffel bags before he heads to a parked car outside to drive to the drop-off point. This leaves the suitcases in the gym, and out of the FBI's reach. Tom drives on as the sun goes down, not noticing that Jimmy is following him a few cars behind. Over the radio, Jimmy derides Tom that he seems to have no problems with buying his way out of tight situations (such as the one with the union leader). When it seems that none of Tom's questions or requests to speak to his son are being met, he pulls off the side of the road, though too late for Jimmy to notice. After awhile, the voice on the radio grows fainter, and Tom now realizes that Jimmy was following him. Pulling back onto the road, the signal grows stronger, and Jimmy instructs Tom to turn off towards an upcoming rock quarry. Here, he will turn over the money and receive an address to go to next. Arriving at the quarry, Cubby shows up on an ATV, demanding the money. However, when Tom asks for the address, Cubby ignores him and struggles for the money. As this goes on, an FBI SWAT team shows up in two helicopters, preparing to capture Cubby. Cubby takes the money and tries to flee. The SWAT team chases him down, with Cubby firing back at them, managing to wound one of them as they to rappel down to the ground. One of the snipers in the helicopters takes a well-placed shot that hits Cubby in the neck, knocking him off the bike. Tom goes over to Cubby, but he is mortally wounded and dies without giving up the address. Tom is furious, blaming the FBI for killing the only known link to his son. However, Hawkins pacifies him by explaining that identifying the drop man does give them a lead. It turns out Cubby is a petty thief, and he runs a lot with his brother Clark, who is a much higher fish in the criminal underworld. Finding Clark might lead them to Sean. At the hideout, Clark is furious over the death of his younger brother. He and Maris are in total agreement to simply kill Sean and give up. However, Jimmy angrily reprimands both and insists that the plan for the ransom is still going to happen. Back at Tom's penthouse, the media have gotten word of the drop-off and Sean's kidnapping, and details are now being televised on television. Jimmy makes another call to Tom, giving him new instructions on where to drop off the money this time. After using the FBI's double to throw off the media, Tom attempts to follow the instructions. However, after listening to Jimmy's instructions, Tom changes his mind. He then tells Jimmy to turn to the local Channel 5 news and watch it for the next few hours, before disconnecting the call. Tom then goes to the news station where their broadcast is interrupted for a special report from Tom. Seated behind a desk, with the $2 million ransom laid out around him, Tom then delivers a message to the kidnappers: He will not pay the ransom. Instead, he has decided to use the ransom money as a reward for information leading to the arrest or death of the kidnapper. Tom claims that the kidnapper will never get his ransom money, and will lift the reward if his son is let free. Tom goes back to his shocked wife and Hawkins, who have never heard of such a tactic. Tom is able to convince his wife that this is the best strategy to get their son back. He is convinced that based on how Cubby behaved at the first drop that the kidnappers plan on killing Sean when they get paid. Jimmy is losing control of his crew, who now want to dispose of Sean more than ever now that a bounty has been laid on their heads. Desperate, Jimmy sets up a new plan in hopes of reining in Tom's plan. He sends a note to Kate with the stipulation that she appear at a renovated church at 2am without her husband's knowledge. Jimmy dons a ski mask and ambushes her, and threatens to gut Sean unless his ransom demands are met. He leaves Kate shaken, along with Sean's shirt covered in blood stains. Coming back to her home, Kate is obviously shaken up and her faith in Tom's plan begins to falter. Hawkins plays on that, attempting to create a rift so that the ransom is paid - this course of action he thinks has the highest probability for the safe recovery of Sean. However, Tom has other ideas. Leaving his apartment building, he walks right out into the midst of the media gathered on his doorstep, and reports that he is now doubling the reward to $4 million. Jimmy then calls up Tom again, allowing Sean to speak a few words, and then demanding that Tom pay the ransom. However, neither man is willing to give the other the edge, and a shouting match ensues before Jimmy says he'll kill Sean now, and fires off a gun at the nearby wall, to bluff Tom and Kate into thinking he's killed Sean. The line cuts off, and Tom and Kate fear the worst. Back near Jimmy's place, the plan appears to have fallen apart. Jimmy goes to a nearby laundromat to think, as nearby, Clark and Miles load their white van to leave. Back in the house, Maris contemplates killing Sean again. Jimmy then formulates a way to salvage the situation for at least himself. From the laundromat, he takes out his radio and calls his dispatcher to make a distress call. He then goes outside, flashes his badge, and attempts to 'arrest' Miles and Clark. Realizing they've been double-crossed, the two try to drive off, but not before Jimmy kills both of them. After planting a fired revolver on Miles, Jimmy is then caught off-guard when Maris emerges from the house, shooting him in the shoulder. Though it pains him to do so, Jimmy shoots Maris down too. As police units race to the scene, Jimmy staggers back into the house, and plants himself next to Sean's bedside, radioing in that he has found the kidnappers' lair and Sean. He remains in this position until the Emergency Service Unit breaches the hideout and discovers him. Tom and Kate are soon after alerted to the discovery and are reunited with their son. As Jimmy is loaded onto an ambulance, Tom thanks him for saving his son's life. Over the course of the next few days, Jimmy is hailed as a hero by his peers and the public. Meanwhile, at the Mullens', Sean is still having trouble readjusting after his kidnapping. He is scared to be left in the dark, and his eyes have not yet readjusted back to natural light after having been blindfolded during almost the entire kidnapping. A couple days afterwards, Jimmy visits Tom's penthouse to collect the $4 million reward. Tom complies, and they go to his study where he begins to write out a check. As he does so, Jimmy then asks Tom a loaded' question: Why didn't he simply pay the ransom? Tom explains it was because the kidnapper was 'human garbage,' and that in the end if push had come to shove, he probably would have paid 10 times the reward to get his son back. As they talk, Sean wanders into Tom's eye line off to the right, and upon seeing a bit of Jimmy's face and hearing his voice, Sean freezes up and urinates down the side of his pants. Tom catches this in his peripheral vision and recalls that some news reports stated that the police did not believe that Maris was the main kidnapper, and that she may have had an accomplice that escaped. Sean quietly leaves nearby, as Tom goes over and presents the check to Jimmy. However, Jimmy has noticed Tom's hesitation and now figures the businessman is on to him. Jimmy then demands that Tom call his bank and wire the $4 million directly to his account, producing a gun to emphasize the threat. Tom counters by offering to take Jimmy to his bank and wire the money from there, after which Tom will allow Jimmy to be flown anywhere. Jimmy reluctantly accepts this but still threatens Tom that one day he very well could return to murder Sean. The two leave the apartment, and Tom makes a call on his car phone. However, calling under the pretense that he is making jet arrangements for Jimmy, Tom has actually contacted Hawkins and the FBI investigators. Tom mentions that they'll be stopping by his bank before heading to the airport. Jimmy suspects that Tom may be attempting to double-cross him, but before he can turn the speakerphone on, Tom ends the call. After exchanging pleasantries with a few police officers outside the bank, Tom and Jimmy enter the bank and are greeted like royalty, and Tom wires the money through to Jimmy's account. This is all to stall for time, as the FBI have informed the NYPD about Jimmy. Jimmy realizes this when they emerge from the bank and the police officers from earlier try to detain him. Jimmy pulls his gun and shoots them both, before darting into traffic. Tom quickly follows and attempts to subdue Jimmy. Eventually, the fight spills into the front of a storefront. Tom grabs Jimmy's gun and holds it towards him, just as the police arrive and demand his surrender. Jimmy, though badly wounded, reaches for his backup weapon in an ankle holster. As he draws, Tom spots him and fires once, and Hawkins fires thrice, all four bullets hitting Jimmy and killing him. Kate soon after appears, and she and Tom walk off as the police secure the scene. Over the course of the beginning of the credits, we watch as the scene is cleaned up, and before evening arrives, the once violent scene has returned to normalcy on the street corner.
Ransom
Action,Crime,Drama
Film Details
This movie begins with airline owner Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson) hosting a party at his swank New York City apartment. The party is being held to unveil his latest commercial which gives background information on how Tom became a self-made multi-millionaire airline entrepreneur. Interspersed with this is a montage of a group of kidnappers setting up a lair designed to hold a hostage.
Later, Tom and his wife Kate (Rene Russo) and his son Sean (Brawley Nolte) attend a science fair in Central Park that Kate is a judge at. During this fair, Tom's son Sean wanders away and is kidnapped by a group of criminals, comprised of Maris Conner (Lili Taylor), a caterer working for the Mullens, along with criminal brothers Clark (Liev Schreiber) and Cubby Barnes (Donnie Wahlberg), as well as tech expert Miles Roberts (Evan Handler). They throw him in the back of a white van and drive off.
Tom and Kate quickly realize their son is missing and frantically begin to search for him. The kidnappers get in touch with the Mullens with a video message. The video is of Sean, blindfolded and chained up to a bed.
An individual whose voice is electronically disguised demands $2 million in ransom, and threatens to have Sean killed if the police or the media are informed of what's happening. Even though the message said not to, Tom and Kate decide that someone must be alerted. They call up the FBI, who show up under the guise of being a crew of carpenters who come to do renovation on the Mullens' penthouse, led by agent Lonnie Hawkins (Delroy Lindo).
Hawkins asks if Tom and Kate want to negotiate or give in to the ransom demands, and finds that the two already have two suitcases all prepared for a hand-off, awaiting further instructions from the kidnappers. Meanwhile, at the hideout in Brooklyn, Cubby takes sympathy on the kidnapped Sean and decides to pop down to a nearby bodega to buy some videotapes and cereal for him. When he goes there to shop, the NYPD are conducting an investigation on a detained thief who tried to rob the place.
As Detective Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise) and his partner interview the thief, he eyes Cubby suspiciously. After seeing his partner and the detained thief off, Jimmy tails Cubby to the kidnapper's hideout. Sneaking in, he passes the locked room with Sean inside and rousts Cubby by putting a gun to his head.
As it turns out, Jimmy is actually the ringleader of the kidnappers and chides Cubby for his overt recklessness, and he's lucky that none of the other cops at the bodega thought it suspicious that he, someone with a long criminal record, was buying kids' cereal. Back at Tom's penthouse, he confesses to Hawkins that a former union head of the machinist union may have had an involvement with the kidnapping of his son. Tom confides that he bribed the union president to call off a strike and the president went to jail while Tom escaped prosecution.
Hawkins arranges a jailhouse meeting between Tom and the union leader in prison, but it is apparent from the meeting that the former union president had nothing to do with the kidnapping. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy calls, using a scrambler to disguise his voice, with instructions regarding the drop-off of the ransom money. While on the phone, the FBI hit a major snag when they are unable to get a lock on the kidnapper's location due to technical scrambling on Jimmy's part.
The FBI suggests that their 'double' for Tom make the drop, but Tom insists he do it himself. He is also set up with a wire to record any conversations. Tom reaches a specific street location, and his car's cellular phone then directs him to a gym.
Jimmy instructs Tom to take the money with him, and dive into the gym's swimming pool to retrieve a locker-room key. This move short-circuits the wire Tom is wearing, destroying the FBI's planted mechanism. Tom then finds the locker, and a radio, which instructs him to put on some clothes provided in the locker, and put the money in two large duffel bags before he heads to a parked car outside to drive to the drop-off point.
This leaves the suitcases in the gym, and out of the FBI's reach. Tom drives on as the sun goes down, not noticing that Jimmy is following him a few cars behind. Over the radio, Jimmy derides Tom that he seems to have no problems with buying his way out of tight situations (such as the one with the union leader).
When it seems that none of Tom's questions or requests to speak to his son are being met, he pulls off the side of the road, though too late for Jimmy to notice. After awhile, the voice on the radio grows fainter, and Tom now realizes that Jimmy was following him. Pulling back onto the road, the signal grows stronger, and Jimmy instructs Tom to turn off towards an upcoming rock quarry.
Here, he will turn over the money and receive an address to go to next. Arriving at the quarry, Cubby shows up on an ATV, demanding the money. However, when Tom asks for the address, Cubby ignores him and struggles for the money.
As this goes on, an FBI SWAT team shows up in two helicopters, preparing to capture Cubby. Cubby takes the money and tries to flee. The SWAT team chases him down, with Cubby firing back at them, managing to wound one of them as they to rappel down to the ground.
One of the snipers in the helicopters takes a well-placed shot that hits Cubby in the neck, knocking him off the bike. Tom goes over to Cubby, but he is mortally wounded and dies without giving up the address. Tom is furious, blaming the FBI for killing the only known link to his son.
However, Hawkins pacifies him by explaining that identifying the drop man does give them a lead. It turns out Cubby is a petty thief, and he runs a lot with his brother Clark, who is a much higher fish in the criminal underworld. Finding Clark might lead them to Sean.
At the hideout, Clark is furious over the death of his younger brother. He and Maris are in total agreement to simply kill Sean and give up. However, Jimmy angrily reprimands both and insists that the plan for the ransom is still going to happen.
Back at Tom's penthouse, the media have gotten word of the drop-off and Sean's kidnapping, and details are now being televised on television. Jimmy makes another call to Tom, giving him new instructions on where to drop off the money this time. After using the FBI's double to throw off the media, Tom attempts to follow the instructions.
However, after listening to Jimmy's instructions, Tom changes his mind. He then tells Jimmy to turn to the local Channel 5 news and watch it for the next few hours, before disconnecting the call. Tom then goes to the news station where their broadcast is interrupted for a special report from Tom.
Seated behind a desk, with the $2 million ransom laid out around him, Tom then delivers a message to the kidnappers: He will not pay the ransom. Instead, he has decided to use the ransom money as a reward for information leading to the arrest or death of the kidnapper. Tom claims that the kidnapper will never get his ransom money, and will lift the reward if his son is let free.
Tom goes back to his shocked wife and Hawkins, who have never heard of such a tactic. Tom is able to convince his wife that this is the best strategy to get their son back. He is convinced that based on how Cubby behaved at the first drop that the kidnappers plan on killing Sean when they get paid.
Jimmy is losing control of his crew, who now want to dispose of Sean more than ever now that a bounty has been laid on their heads. Desperate, Jimmy sets up a new plan in hopes of reining in Tom's plan. He sends a note to Kate with the stipulation that she appear at a renovated church at 2am without her husband's knowledge.
Jimmy dons a ski mask and ambushes her, and threatens to gut Sean unless his ransom demands are met. He leaves Kate shaken, along with Sean's shirt covered in blood stains. Coming back to her home, Kate is obviously shaken up and her faith in Tom's plan begins to falter.
Hawkins plays on that, attempting to create a rift so that the ransom is paid - this course of action he thinks has the highest probability for the safe recovery of Sean. However, Tom has other ideas. Leaving his apartment building, he walks right out into the midst of the media gathered on his doorstep, and reports that he is now doubling the reward to $4 million.
Jimmy then calls up Tom again, allowing Sean to speak a few words, and then demanding that Tom pay the ransom. However, neither man is willing to give the other the edge, and a shouting match ensues before Jimmy says he'll kill Sean now, and fires off a gun at the nearby wall, to bluff Tom and Kate into thinking he's killed Sean. The line cuts off, and Tom and Kate fear the worst.
Back near Jimmy's place, the plan appears to have fallen apart. Jimmy goes to a nearby laundromat to think, as nearby, Clark and Miles load their white van to leave. Back in the house, Maris contemplates killing Sean again.
Jimmy then formulates a way to salvage the situation for at least himself. From the laundromat, he takes out his radio and calls his dispatcher to make a distress call. He then goes outside, flashes his badge, and attempts to 'arrest' Miles and Clark.
Realizing they've been double-crossed, the two try to drive off, but not before Jimmy kills both of them. After planting a fired revolver on Miles, Jimmy is then caught off-guard when Maris emerges from the house, shooting him in the shoulder. Though it pains him to do so, Jimmy shoots Maris down too.
As police units race to the scene, Jimmy staggers back into the house, and plants himself next to Sean's bedside, radioing in that he has found the kidnappers' lair and Sean. He remains in this position until the Emergency Service Unit breaches the hideout and discovers him. Tom and Kate are soon after alerted to the discovery and are reunited with their son.
As Jimmy is loaded onto an ambulance, Tom thanks him for saving his son's life. Over the course of the next few days, Jimmy is hailed as a hero by his peers and the public. Meanwhile, at the Mullens', Sean is still having trouble readjusting after his kidnapping.
He is scared to be left in the dark, and his eyes have not yet readjusted back to natural light after having been blindfolded during almost the entire kidnapping. A couple days afterwards, Jimmy visits Tom's penthouse to collect the $4 million reward. Tom complies, and they go to his study where he begins to write out a check.
As he does so, Jimmy then asks Tom a loaded' question: Why didn't he simply pay the ransom? Tom explains it was because the kidnapper was 'human garbage,' and that in the end if push had come to shove, he probably would have paid 10 times the reward to get his son back. As they talk, Sean wanders into Tom's eye line off to the right, and upon seeing a bit of Jimmy's face and hearing his voice, Sean freezes up and urinates down the side of his pants. Tom catches this in his peripheral vision and recalls that some news reports stated that the police did not believe that Maris was the main kidnapper, and that she may have had an accomplice that escaped.
Sean quietly leaves nearby, as Tom goes over and presents the check to Jimmy. However, Jimmy has noticed Tom's hesitation and now figures the businessman is on to him. Jimmy then demands that Tom call his bank and wire the $4 million directly to his account, producing a gun to emphasize the threat.
Tom counters by offering to take Jimmy to his bank and wire the money from there, after which Tom will allow Jimmy to be flown anywhere. Jimmy reluctantly accepts this but still threatens Tom that one day he very well could return to murder Sean. The two leave the apartment, and Tom makes a call on his car phone.
However, calling under the pretense that he is making jet arrangements for Jimmy, Tom has actually contacted Hawkins and the FBI investigators. Tom mentions that they'll be stopping by his bank before heading to the airport. Jimmy suspects that Tom may be attempting to double-cross him, but before he can turn the speakerphone on, Tom ends the call.
After exchanging pleasantries with a few police officers outside the bank, Tom and Jimmy enter the bank and are greeted like royalty, and Tom wires the money through to Jimmy's account. This is all to stall for time, as the FBI have informed the NYPD about Jimmy. Jimmy realizes this when they emerge from the bank and the police officers from earlier try to detain him.
Jimmy pulls his gun and shoots them both, before darting into traffic. Tom quickly follows and attempts to subdue Jimmy. Eventually, the fight spills into the front of a storefront.
Tom grabs Jimmy's gun and holds it towards him, just as the police arrive and demand his surrender. Jimmy, though badly wounded, reaches for his backup weapon in an ankle holster. As he draws, Tom spots him and fires once, and Hawkins fires thrice, all four bullets hitting Jimmy and killing him.
Kate soon after appears, and she and Tom walk off as the police secure the scene. Over the course of the beginning of the credits, we watch as the scene is cleaned up, and before evening arrives, the once violent scene has returned to normalcy on the street corner..