Ransom

Ron Howard directed this thriller which stars Mel Gibson as Tom Mullen, a former fighter pilot who built a ramshackle one-plane airline into a major multinational service fleet. Mullen has a multi-million dollar fortune, a beautiful wife, Kate (Rene Russo) and a nine-year-old son, Sean (Brawley ...more

Crisp, taut, and often preposterous, Ron Howard's Ransom is as eager a suspenseful potboiler as they come. For the most part, it scores, with Mel Gibson revisiting the righteous anger that worked so well for him in films like Mad Max and Braveheart. The film absorbs the viewer from the start, as a disorienting abduction scene teaches Rene Russo's character how simply -- and perhaps irrevocably -- a loved one can be whisked away. As they process the kidnappers' demands, the Mullens and FBI agents ...more