Fantastic!

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

CONTAINS SPOILERS--The only reason I rated this movie 2 instead of the 1 or 0 it truly deserved is that the acting, overall, was really well done, particularly the main character played by Teri Polo.Here is what I would have done at the end, if my family ever, even under such dire circumstances, would have treated me in such a way. I would have acknowledged that, yes, it did keep me from my drinking and smoking. Thanks. And then I would have sued that unethical psychiatrist and the staff to the point of any financial ruin possible. I would also have taken that ring, which apparently within 5 minutes won her back, and thrown it down the nearest sewage hole on the street, filed for divorce, and told the husband he could have the "best friend," as I would never have trusted either of them again, much less in the 3 minutes it took for him to convince her that he "did it all for love." Oh, and I would have sued for, and won, total custody for putting my one living child through a month of believing I was dead. Lastly I would have gone to the police and suggested jail time for all involved, as they wasted huge sums of taxpayer money in this endeavor to again show me that I was crazy, to say nothing of a false police call involving multiple officers when she reported her situation to them after escaping.Lastly I would have gone to the press, or possibly Lifetime Movie Network, and told my story for the world. Oh wait that part was done already:).And I would then have gone on with my new life.

This was a solid movie. The performances were good throughout. One weak actor can ruin a movie, but there were none. Teri Polo was very good in a difficult role. Chaz Palminteri is always compelling. He manages to bring honesty to every role and underplays beautifully. The writing was clever, and a nice departure from what normally passes as a thriller. The screenwriter did a nice job of conveying a lot without repetition. Good use of misdirection. I thought the score could have been better - it felt inserted at times. Most importantly, though, the story flowed well and accomplishes the key task of any film - it keeps the viewer wanting to know what will happen next.

I have seen some preposterous films in my time but Taken for Ransom/Final Recourse really is up there as one of the silliest. Even with the ridiculous story line this still fails to be sufficiently entertaining. The plot tries to be clever with numerous twists but they are so contrived and unconvincing that rather than being impressed you are left irritated. Everything about the film is amateurish, the acting, the dialogue, the script. Terri Polo fails to convince as the lead although to be fair to her she was the best one in this and even the best actress in the world would have struggled in her role. The bad guys were bad caricatures and the supporting cast especially the husband were wooden. The ending really does defy belief. It is so ridiculous and laughable that it falls into the so bad it's good category and the only reason I didn't rate this film a 1. I can't recommend this film to anyone other than those looking for an a laughably ludicrous film to watch. Quite how this currently has a rating of 5.6 is beyond my comprehension. Just awful.

Over the opening credits, a woman appears to be running for her life. She turns out to be multi-millionaire mom Teri Polo (as Brooke Holton). Following a tragedy for which she blames herself, Ms. Polo takes comfort in pills, alcohol and cigarettes. Loving husband Matt Socia (as Albert Fuentes) and tightly-clothed co-worker Tia Carrere (as Michelle Gaines) are worried. Polo goes through professional psychoanalysis, but it doesn't work. She makes bad decisions at work, burns breakfast and drunkenly drops her birthday cake on the lawn. Her stupor also makes Polo vulnerable to stalking kidnappers..."Final Recourse" aka "Taken for Ransom" almost works. Watching it a second time will reveal the story's breaking point – a point-of-view error at about the 20 minute mark; listen for the line, "Rats leaving the sinking ship," and the cocking of a gun. Oddly, there are a couple of places where a little extra editing would have made a scene like this fairly consistent with the ending. Still, the basics of an engaging story are there. Most engrossing is the plight of Polo and younger victim Luke Eberl (as William "Will" Graves) in a deserted gymnasium. Directed by Barbara Stepansky, they are quite captivating.***** Final Recourse/ Taken for Ransom (12/16/13) Barbara Stepansky ~ Teri Polo, Matt Socia, Lucas Elliot Eberl, Chazz Palminteri