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Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This film came out just two years after "Skyjacked," the first movie made about skyjacking. Most hijacking of airplanes before this were for one of two reasons – to extort money from the airlines, or to flee somewhere for political asylum. "The Terrorists" is the first movie made about organized terrorists taking over a plane. And it surely wasn't the last. What is very good about this film is that it shows how security personnel handle the situation. It's new to all the characters in this film. Sean Connery plays the head of Scandinavian security, Co. Nils Tahlvik. While the movie uses the general term Scandinavian for the region, the event takes place in Norway, most likely Oslo. All the actors play their roles very well. The plot is complicated, and the script and direction handle it very well, so the audience is never lost about what is taking place. The scenery and aerial photography are excellent. The flight into Russia with the buzzing and then escort by the Soviet-looking jets is most impressive. Even though the details are clear to the audience, the story has wonderful suspense as we see Tahlvik and the other characters go through their actions to meet deadlines. Connery's character also exclaims that to surrender to terrorists is to open to door to more and more terrorism. His purpose is to try to thwart the terrorists. This is a nice film, filled with drama and suspense. There isn't a lot of action until the end. But, it is a good look at how government and security forces try to deal with terrorists and skyjackings. "The Terrorists" has one subtle "message" of sorts. It takes a cynical stab at British government that will not arrest some criminals because they can be of use to them. The message is, that because they do that, it comes back to hurt innocent people. Connery's character insists that the law be followed, or anarchy will rule.

I cannot believe the negative comments I am reading here. This is a complex, atmospheric and well-acted thriller, which fully captures the 1970s atmosphere of European terrorism, fashion and mannerisms.The photography is stunning of the Norwegian snowbound landscapes, and Sean Connery gives one of his best performances.And to cap it all there is a great - and I mean GREAT score by Jerry Goldsmith, one of this best.Check the scene of the plane chase through the mountains, also the stylish montage of scenes involving London being struck by terrorism in the opening credits and the way the photofit of the terrorist leader gradually appears.Goldsmith's score is so good, it is worth watching for that alone!

The main reason for watching this thriller on the Fox cable channel was the cast. Not having a clue as to whether this movie was ever distributed in this country, but the allure of actors like Sean Connery and Ian McShane in its cast, proved to be the deciding factor for watching this 1975 British production directed by Finnish director Caspar Wrede. The film had the title "The Terrorists", in the version we watched.After a series of bombs are detonated in London, we are taken to Oslo, where a group of terrorists have kidnapped the British ambassador to that country. The masked individuals demands are passed to the local security forces. Nils Tahlvik, the negotiator wants to put his own plan of action in place. There is a conflict with a British agent who wants to give in to the kidnappers' demands, something that Tahlvik doesn't want to do.In the meantime, a commercial airliner, about to land at Oslo's old Fornebu airport is taken over by a group of hijackers. The captain takes a chance by making the tires of the plane blow up as they land. All attempts to surprise the kidnappers on board fail. As preparations begin to bring the ambassador and the men holding him to the aircraft, that by now has been fixed for an unknown flight, the police tries, unsuccessfully to send security forces masquerading as the criminals, but everything fails until the end when Tahlvik himself boards the aircraft and a surprise, that has been kept from us, is revealed.The screen play by Paul Wheeler is confusing, at best. We don't have a clear picture of what is really going on, that is complicated by the ending in which that surprise comes out of nowhere regarding one of the hijackers and the duplicity of someone in the negotiating team.Sean Connery is not at his best in the film. We get to see Mr. Connery as he looked at that time before any cosmetic enhancements, especially his teeth, which went through quite a change after this film was done. Ian McShane makes an interesting appearance as the evil Ray Petrie, who is in charge of the hijacking team on board the plane. Isabel Dean, has a good moment as the British ambassador's wife pleading with Tahlvik.While the film is by no means horrible, it could have been probably better with another film treatment and a action director. The best thing in the movie is Sven Nykvist cinematography, which unfortunately doesn't quite show in its splendor because of the faded quality of the copy that was shown.

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.