This week, I used 139 minutes of my colossal amount of free time to watch “Ransom”. I picked this movie for no particular reason since I found it by scrolling through the free movies section on Xfinity On Demand and choosing the first movie I saw after closing and reopening my eyes. I have to say, I think I chose well.

Directed by Ron Howard, the movie stars Mel Gibson, who plays a wealthy airline owner named Tom Mullen. He must work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to find his son, Sean Mullen, after he is kidnapped with a 2 million dollar ransom. Filled with suspense, the story took many different directions and had a surprising twist near the end. 

The movie has many recognizable actors such as Mel Gibson, Gary Sinise, and Rene Russo. Along with such a great cast, the soundtrack was phenomenal as well. The score was composed by James Horner, who’s contributed to renowned soundtracks like  “Titanic”, “Apollo 13”, “Braveheart”, and “Avatar”. Horner has received two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, so I’m not surprised about the quality of the score in this movie.  

Mel Gibson put on a passionate performance with lots of emotion displayed from both him and Rene Russo, who played Sean’s mother. Their tense energy radiated off the screen onto me, which made the plot very suspenseful.

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 75%, “Ransom” is a “Certified Fresh Movie”. Audience scores from Rotten Tomatoes are in at 62%, which, in my opinion, is a bit harsh. Was it the best movie ever? No. Was it entertaining, enjoyable, and a worthwhile way to kill a couple of hours right now? Absolutely.