They had already established a rapport as cops (and lovers) Martin Riggs and Lorna Cole in LETHAL WEAPON 3 (1992), but in 1996 Mel Gibson and Rene Russo had a change of pace, as did director Ron Howard (APOLLO 13, PARENTHOOD) in a remake of a 1956 thriller starring Glenn Ford.
Tom Mullen (Gibson) and wife Karen (Russo) live in a New York Penthouse with son Sean (Brawley Nolte, son of Nick (48 HRS. , DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS)).
Tom is a millionaire owner of Endeavour Airlines, a major independent company and the latest commercial runs during a party Mullen hosts at the home.
However, during a kids’ science competition locally, Sean is kidnapped by mystery men and later on, a distorted voice on a phone calls the Mullens and tells them their son is kidnapped and will die unless they cough up $2m.
Mullen attempts to deliver the money, but in the confusion his contact (Donnie Wahlberg) is shot and the mystery voice reminds him of the stakes at hand, but Mullen has a surprise in store….
Scripted by Richard Price, who wrote the classic novel THE WANDERERS, adapted into a film in 1979 by Philip Kaufman, as well as the screenplays for THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986), the sequel to THE HUSTLER) and SEA OF LOVE (1989), RANSOM focuses on both sides of the coin in a competent and on occasion suspenseful yarn, with Gibson at the top of his game as an actor.