Movie Overview
Ransom is a 1996 American crime thriller film written by Richard Price & Alexander Ignon and directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Brawley Nolte, Delroy Lindo, Liev Schreiber, Evan Handler, Donnie Wahlberg, and Lili Taylor. Gibson was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.The original story came from a 1954 episode of The United States Steel Hour titled "Fearful Decision". In 1956, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume into the feature film Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, and Leslie Nielsen. The film was also influenced by Ed McBain's police procedural novel King's Ransom.
The film received mostly positive reviews, and was a major financial success, becoming the 5th highest-grossing film of 1996 in the United States.
While multi-millionaire Tom Mullen and his wife Kate attend a science fair, their son Sean is kidnapped. Sean is taken to an apartment by Maris, a caterer for the Mullens, along with criminals Clark, Cubby and Miles. Tom and Kate receive an e-mail from the kidnappers demanding $2,000,000. Tom calls the FBI, which begins operating from his New York City penthouse.
Detective Shaker of the NYPD is arresting a perpetrator in a convenience store when Cubby buys some FrankenBerry cereal. Shaker follows Cubby into the building where the kidnappers are residing, sees Sean tied in a bedroom, and holds Cubby at gunpoint, berating him for being so obvious; Shaker is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Tom agrees to the FBI's instructions for delivering the ransom. Receiving a phone call from Shaker, who is electronically disguising his voice, Tom follows his instructions. He meets Cubby in a New Jersey quarry. Shaker indicated that Cubby would give Tom an address where Sean could be picked up in exchange for the money, but when Cubby appears ignorant of these instructions and simply demands the cash, Tom refuses to hand it over. The FBI sends a helicopter after Cubby and Cubby opens fire. FBI marksmen kill Cubby before he can reveal Sean's location.
Shaker sets up another ransom drop. Angered that the FBI followed him instead of the money and killed his only lead, Tom insists on taking the money without being tracked. Realizing the first drop was a setup and there is no guarantee that Sean will come back alive, Tom goes on the television news and offers the ransom as a bounty. The only way for the kidnappers to save themselves is to return his son, in which case he will withdraw the bounty and drop all charges.
Despite the pleadings of Kate and FBI Special Agent Lonnie Hawkins, Tom sticks to his plan, believing it is the best chance of having Sean returned. Shaker lures Kate to a meeting where he tells her to pay the ransom or Sean will die. Tom responds by increasing the bounty to $4,000,000. Shaker calls Tom and demands to be paid. Tom replies that Sean must be returned or else the kidnappers will be hunted down. Tom hears Sean's voice screaming for his father. Shaker fires a shot heard over the phone before the call cuts off, leaving Tom and Kate believing their son is dead.
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