Very disappointed :(

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Yeah, this is a throwaway thriller from back in the days but it aged well. It is about a rich guy who's son gets kidnapped and held for ransom. But the tables turn when the rich guy offers the ransom as a bounty. Mel Gibson makes this movie work. His intensity and high- level acting pushes what should have been an average thriller over the top. Would I not recommend hunting this film down just to watch it but if it was on television and you had nothing better to do, it is a relatively good waste of time.

In this stirring film Mel Gibson gives us once again a brilliant performance as he sets about to rescue his kidnapped son from Jimmy Shaker played by Gary Sinise. Beloved parents Tom & Kate Mullen's lives are turned upside down after their son is kidnapped and used to blackmail the rich and powerful Tom Mullen. The consequences are a roller coaster of emotional turmoil as the psychological impact forces Tom to take extreme measures to get his son back.The conflict between the hostage taker and the wealthy billionaire is superbly played out and while the investigators try as they must to save the boy's life, Jimmy is already two steps ahead of him. An unexpected twist occurs when Tom rips up the rule book and relies on his business instincts to beat Jimmy at his own game. Death, betrayal & vengeance best sum up this film as two worlds collide. Shakers determination to hurt Tom were it matters and Tom's attempt to redeem himself for his past errors in the commercial world leads to an epic encounter between two. All in all a great film and one of Gibson's best.

Yes, I enjoyed watching this movie - even though it felt at times that it would never end. It looks like there are enough reviews on here praising its technical "merits" by Hollywood criteria. I for one do not think the acting had much quality or depth to it at all (Gibson's is really inconsistent/ delirious), nor would I say at all that this is a "good" film story, just an enjoyable one, and a compelling one for the following reason; This is possibly the most thinly-veiled cinematic propagation of a Neoliberal capitalist mentality I have seen - from the mid-nineties: White collar criminal (Gibson) gains his redemption / dignity and the respect of his family and government (the skeptical FBI agent (Lindo)) by pursuing a stubborn, risky path of non-negotiation (which jeopardizes the life of his son). Gibson's character refuses to pay-off the "human garbage" who could partially be seen to represent an extralegal justice.. and effectively pits the actors who constitute the threat to his decadent life against one another; the competition literally destroys itself -for the most part. The final scene is the most unbelievable, where we see the corporate 'hero' disobey the faithful but ineffective state - the officers demanding that he "drop the gun", who failed to take down the wayward dissatisfied officer from their ranks. A sort of case for the benefits of extreme self-interest, privatization, deregulation of business, realpolitik, etc.? This is an interesting watch as it significantly predates the wall street crash, the more contemporary political-economic policy that one would associate with this sort of message, and the more recent flashier action films (i.e. Nolan's Dark Knight, Miller's 300 etc) that are recognizable now as the Hollywood promotion of (I would say quite TOXIC) Neoliberalism. Thanks for reading.

Ron Howard and Mel Gibson have a thing in common. Unreliability of excellence. Both have done exceptional work, but some of it not so. This is ironically a meeting of those inconsistencies in a movie that is not the best or the worst of either. The blending of the two talented, if spotty, mega-stars ends up being a glaring case of highlighted mediocrity not superiority.The overacting and totally unbelievable Gibson uses many mannerisms of his earlier films and seems unable to play any emotion except righteous indignation, and that he does well. But here he is called upon to emote and react with heartfelt feelings that come off as hammy and borderline horrendous. His best scenes are in the car and on the phone and with the bad guys and the worst are with his wife and child and his over reactions with the FBI and police.The Director gives this a good try but again, he seems glaringly out of his element. The action scenes are well done but the suspense and the rhythm of the film seems craggy and out of step. Since then he has honed his abilities and stylish beats and does much better in recent years. But here he is not quite with it when it comes to this type of thing.The bad guys scenes work much better than the family situations both with the kid and with law enforcement types. The plot is overly complex with muddled motivations but moves along quickly enough to make this nothing more than an average feeling man's action movie that has too much fake feeling and not enough edgy action.