Ransom

Many critics have called the Sean Connery thriller Ransom a stinker. It's not all that good, but to label it as bottom-of-the-barrel rubbish is possibly a bit harsh.

The story is old hat. It concerns a plane hijacking in Scandinavia, carried out by a gang of suit-clad Englismhmen led by the charismatic Ian McShane. Connery is introduced as a Scandinavian police chief (still with the familiar Scottish accent, however) who is hired to end the siege. His mission is complicated further when a second hostage situation arises at the nearby residence of the British Ambassador.

The snowy landscapes fit nicely with the cold, cynical plot. There are infrequent tense sequences, such as the bit where a team of counter-terrorist soldiers make a bungled attempt to seize the aircraft. Connery and McShane have a few well played scenes in which they taunt and torment each other over the readio transmitter. The reason that the film fails to take off is that it is too low key, and suffers from a bad twist ending which renders the entire film a bit pointless. Too many of the scenes are flat, and Caspar Wrede (the director) doesn't get interesting performances out of any of the secondary characters.

Not a full-on catastrophe, then, but not a great film either.

This film is also called The ransom, not to be confused with the mild action film with Mel Gibson.

The film set in the Scandinavian country (called Scandinavia in the movie, while it is shot in Norway), the snow atmosphere and the heavily dressed characters somehow dictated the slowness of the pace in the movie. Nevertheless, it's exciting. The whole look is not your conventional Hollywood actioner, while at the same time deserves the same class as that of the late sixties/early seventies crime/caper movies like Bullit, French Connection, Taking Pelham One, Two and Three and Dirty Harry.

Connery is fun to watch. He really adds to the atmosphere of the movie and the relatively tame climax looks good with his presence. Good movie. 7/10

Terrorists have seized the British ambassador (Robert Harris) to an unnamed Scandinavian country, and are counting on an associate named Petrie (Ian McShane), who's commandeered a jet, to get them to safety. The main character standing in their way is no-nonsense security chief Colonel Nils Tahlvik (Sean Connery). The passengers on the jet have cause to be concerned, as Tahlvik is not willing to play the terrorists' game. He's going to try to foil them, no matter what it takes.

Although a somewhat forgotten thriller 43 years later, it's certainly still topical enough to have some resonance. It's not particularly *exciting*, or exceptional in any way, but it tells an okay story in capable fashion. Its main asset is its forward momentum, as it races towards the finish line with no filler to speak of, and wraps up in just under an hour and a half. The excellent soundtrack by the always reliable Jerry Goldsmith is a big help in keeping it watchable. It gets off to a grand start with a couple of satisfying explosions, and delivers some twists along the way. It was largely filmed on location in Norway (the wintry atmosphere is most enjoyable), with interiors done at Britains' famed Shepperton Studios.

This viewer wouldn't necessarily consider the performances of Connery and McShane to be "indifferent". Yes, they've been better before and since, but the scenario does benefit from their presence and professionalism. The cast is mostly (and obviously) British, even in some of the Scandinavian roles, and they get the job done adequately.

Largely routine, and forgettable, but entertaining to watch.

Six out of 10.

Sean Connery plays Scandanavian military police chief Nils Tahlvik, assigned to deal with a high jacked British plane that has landed at their airport. The terrorists make various demands that Tahlvik must meet if he wants to save the plane filled with passengers...

Undistinguished yarn has little going for it other than Sean Connery's commanding performance, and a surprise twist at the end that perhaps doesn't bear close scrutiny.... Regardless, though not at all bad, it contains little to make it memorable.

With all respect to Mr. Connery, were films like this and "Zardoz" worth giving up playing James Bond?

In a Scandinavian country, -name given to the three countries of Norway, Denmark and Sweden- , there a national security chief Colonel called Tahlvik (Sean Connery) is tasked to rescue the passengers of a high-jacked British airliner , only to discover that all is not what it seems . The gang of hijackers is led by Ray Petrie (Ian McShane) who seize the British plane as it is landing in Scandinavia . Meanwhile , the British Ambassador is being held hostage at his Embassy by another terrorist team. Skyjack , kidnap : A time-bomb of suspense has started ticking. Two nations are being held for ransom and... Sean Connery is the agent who takes on The Terrorists . Connery Won't Pay Ransom .Hijackers. Kidnappers. Killers. Only one man can stop them.

The action is set in Scandinavia and it concerns two terrorist events : the hijack of a passenger plane on the tarmac of a nearby airport and the kidnap of the British Ambassador whose Embassy residence has been seized by a second group of terrorists . A simple and modest thriller in the same mould as ¨The Intercine Project¨ by Ken Hughes and others at the time , which seems similarly intent on dealing with issues of contemporary relevance as grisly ¨Terrorism¨ during the violent 70s ; however all roles and events in this film are fictitious and any similarity to actual events or persons living or dead is purely coincidental . Generic title betrays its poor as well as sloppy execution . Some stock roles and formula dialogue don't help either . It turns into a straightforward , pretty enjoyable , but slow-moving and complex thriller . It results in a twisted kidnapping movie , being a decent story but middlingly adapted , if somewhat implausible terrorism tale . The movie gains in weight thanks to its typical implications and plot twists . All in all , a neat and unpretentious intrigue movie that offers more food for thought than most such unshamedly commercial movies . Although director Wrede and his cameraman Sven Nykvist are more than compelling , the film nevertheless has a distinct air of triviality due mainly to the made-for-TV ethos that seems to surround the whole production . Sean Connery gives an a decent acting as tough , law and order , Military Police Chief Colonel Tahlvik assigned to rescue the plane and its passengers but he must also deal with several problems . Just like he was a Scottish Lithuanian subcommander in ¨The hunt for Red October¨ (1990) , here Sean is a Scottish Norwegian Securirity Chief . He is very well accompanied by Ian McShane , a veteran actor still working . And a good but unknown support cast , such as : Isabel Dean , John Quentin , Robert Harris , James Maxwell , John Cording, Christopher Ellison , and other Norwegian local actors dubbed with familiar sounding British voice-over players credited at the closing credits , among others.

Good photography by Sven Nykvist , Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman's ordinary cameraman , being shot on location in Norway , and breathtaking musical score by Jerry Goldsmith are wasted . The motion picture was professional but regularly directed by Caspar Wrede . He was a director , writer , and producer, usually for TV , known for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , The Barber of Stamford Hill , The New Inferno , No No ,No ¡ , Private Potter (1962), ITV Play of the Week (1955) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) . Wrede was married to actress Dilys Hamlett and he had short but prestigious career . Rating : 5.5/10 . Acceptable and passable .