November 08, 2021
'Ransom'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Van Lathan double the reward to $4 million after rewatching Ron Howard's 1996 box office hit 'Ransom,' starring Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, and Gary Sinise.
Cast
Mel Gibson as Tom Mullen
Rene Russo as Kate Mullen
Gary Sinise as Jimmy Shaker
Delroy Lindo as Agent Lonnie Hawkins
Liev Schreiber as Clark Barnes
Donnie Wahlberg as Cubby Barnes
Lili Taylor as Maris Conner
Dan Hedaya as Jackie Brown
Directed by: Ron Howard
Written by: Richard Price
Notes
- $70 million budget, made $309.5 million at the box office.
- Taped on November 8, 2021 – exactly 25 years after Ransom came out.
- Mel Gibson was at the tail end of his A+ list run: Maverick (1994), Braveheart (1995), Ransom (1996), Conspiracy Theory (1997).
- Production was delayed because Mel Gibson needed an emergency appendectomy, pushing release from 1995 to 1996.
- Alec Baldwin was first choice for Jimmy Shaker, then Ray Liotta – both turned it down. Gary Sinise was third choice.
- The kidnapped son is played by Brawley Nolte, Nick Nolte's real-life son, who did a couple more movies and then quit acting.
- Rene Russo had a remarkable 6-year run (1992-1998): 'Lethal Weapon' 3, 'In the Line of Fire', Outbreak, Get Shorty, 'Tin Cup', Ransom, 'Lethal Weapon' 4, Thomas Crown Affair – but never got her own vehicle.
- Gary Sinise had a run ('Forrest Gump', Apollo 13, Ransom, 'Snake Eyes') that could have led to a Tommy Lee Jones-level career, but Hollywood 'ran out of Sinise.'
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“A smarter than usual kidnapping thriller.”
Most re-watchable scene
- The stretch from Tom going on TV to flip the ransom into a bounty through the 'Give me back my son' phone call (Bill Simmons).
- Gary Sinise driving to the ransom drop, talking about The Time Machine and the Morlocks (Van Lathan).
What aged the best?
- The Gibson-Russo combo – rare actor/actress pairings who reunite with chemistry.
- The chess match aspect of the Sinise-Gibson dynamic.
- The entire cast – sneaky good, everyone played their positions.
- The dirty cop as lead villain – has only become more relevant.
What aged the worst?
- The rich billionaire being the hero of an action movie – that premise no longer works in 2021.
- Mel Gibson himself and his subsequent career meltdown.
- The kid torture scenes – dialed up about 25% too much.
- The Jackie Brown (bribery) subplot – kind of thrown in.
Casting what-ifs
- Alec Baldwin was first choice for Jimmy Shaker – turned it down.
- Ray Liotta was second choice – also turned it down.
- Gary Sinise was third choice and took it.
Over-acting award
Mel Gibson – 'Give me back my son' scene is a 19 out of 10.
Best "that guy"
- Dan Hedaya.
- Evan Handler.
Best "heat check" performance
- Delroy Lindo – great in just few enough scenes, especially coaching Gibson before he picks up the phone.
- Donnie Wahlberg.
Re-casting couch
Replace Liev Schreiber with a young Ben Affleck or Jason Lee.
Half-assed (internet) research
- Production delayed by Mel Gibson's emergency appendectomy, pushing release from 1995 to 1996.
- The kid is played by Brawley Nolte, Nick Nolte's real-life son.
Apex Mountain
- Mel Gibson – No, Braveheart the year before.
- Rene Russo – 1996 (Ransom and 'Tin Cup' in the same year).
- Kidnapping movies as a genre – this may be the most popular kidnapping movie ever.
- Delroy Lindo – probably Crooklyn (1994).
- Gary Sinise – Apollo 13 coming off 'Forrest Gump'.
Picking nits
- TV station calling Tom a 'multi-millionaire' when he clearly owns an airline and is a billionaire.
- Jimmy Shaker showing up unannounced to collect the bounty – where is Mel's security?
- The family is back playing soccer in the park with no security after a traumatic kidnapping.
Sequel, prequel, prestige TV or untouchable?
Absolutely yes – works better as a Season 1 of prestige TV, could dive deeper into kidnapper crew backstories.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
Who is Tom Mullen in real life right now? Mark Cuban? The guy who owns JetBlue?
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- The entire three-story New York apartment (Bill Simmons).
- The phone voice disguiser (Van Lathan).
Who won the movie?
Mel Gibson.