3.5/5 stars
Seemingly in direct response to this, a number of thrillers have emerged in recent years that depict South Korea as a political power player.
Following this trend, Ransomed uses the true story of a Korean diplomat kidnapped in Lebanon in the 1980s as the sobering backdrop for a well-paced buddy action comedy. It is an awkward fit at times, considering the gravity of the situation, but director Kim Seong-hun (A Hard Day) lands most of his punches.
Much of Ransomed’s success can be attributed to leading man Ha Jung-woo, whose low-level diplomat Lee Min-jun evolves from unassuming pencil pusher to fully fledged action hero in the course of his overseas ordeal.
Despite his unwavering popularity, Ha has lent his name to some decidedly wonky projects over the years, but here his deft balance of boy scout determination and anxious naivety makes Min-jun an easy character to root for.
Min-jun volunteers to play bag man in a covert negotiation between the Korean foreign office and a gang of disreputable terrorists, after a colleague in Beirut is kidnapped. The missing diplomat was thought lost until an SOS message is received 18 months later.
But with an impending general election and the 1988 Summer Olympiad only a few months away, the government is reluctant to attract potentially embarrassing international attention. Instead, the mission falls to Min-jun, who is eager to prove his worth and land a prestigious diplomatic appointment.
On arrival, Min-jun must put his trust in local cab driver Pan-su (Ju Ji-hoon), a scheming charlatan whose only incentive is the empty promise of a US visa. What unfolds is a procession of botched handoffs and near-fatal scrapes with terror groups and local officials, all of whom are portrayed as equally amoral.
As was true of its predecessors, Ransomed remains far more invested in domestic political failings than in the volatile situation in Lebanon. But when it is not depicting relentless bickering between the film’s two mismatched leads, Ransomed pays off in spades.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
