The Terrorists

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.

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?

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.

Strong performances by leads Sean Connery and Ian Mc Shane, backed good action segments, pacing and fine winter locations. Poor editing in some spots causes the film to seem a bit stiff as does some inferior dubbing. Nice twists. Connery's always a pleasure to watch, and Mc Shane's bad guy provides an interesting touch as the head terrorist.

Sadly neglected 70's thriller shot on location in Oslo, Norway. Sean Connery looks great as "Scandinavian Security Chief" Nils Tahlvik, and director Caspar Wrede has made some great use of Oslo scenery including a West Side residential area, Oslo's City Hall and Fornebu International Airport (which closed down in 1998). It's also nice to see one of Norway's greatest stage actors, Knut Wigert, as Connery's commanding officer.

All though slow-moving at times this gritty looking thriller has a nice realistic flair to it, including some surprising plot twists along the way.

One final note: from a Norwegian point-of-view it's fun to see how much this British production has the look and feel of a 70's Norwegian film!

Update/comment on Mike's user comment with the headline "Boring Swedish hijacking action": I don't know where he gets all this "Swedish"-stuff as the movie is mainly shot on location in Norway, it has Norwegian actors in some of the supporting roles (most notably Knut Wigert and Alf Malland) and not one Swedish actor, and as IMDb states it is a British production. Sweden had nothing to do with it.