On January 31, 1986, South Korean diplomat, Secretary Oh Jae-seok (Lim Hyung-guk), is abducted just outside his embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. However, the kidnappers never ask the government for a ransom, and so he’s presumed to be dead. It’s not until 20 months later that the victim manages to make contact. Deputy Lee Min-jun (Ha Jung-woo) is a diplomat working in Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Middle East. He is a loyal public servant, and dreams of being posted in the United States, however, he has seen other employees with less seniority given these positions rather than him. One evening, just as he’s about to leave work, his phone rings, with the surprise coded message, “I’m Korean diplomat Oh Jae-seok”. Min-jun enlists the help of former CIA agent Richard Carter (Burn Gorman, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Torchwood) and wealthy businessman/art broker Hays Shaito (Marcin Dorocinski) to help arbitrate and facilitate a $5 million ransom with the kidnappers, and provide some protection on the ground for the delivery. Despite having no real military training or background, Deputy Lee volunteers to be the one to go to Lebanon to make the drop and retrieve Secretary Oh—partially out of civic duty, but he’s also hoping that this will finally earn him the American post he’s been hoping for.

Things quickly get complicated and dangerous as Min-jun arrives at the airport in Beirut. Some corrupt local officials have learned of the planned ransom drop and watch Min-jun in the airport, hoping to get their hands on the cash. Min-jun makes a run for the taxi that has been arranged for him by local mercenary Karim (Fehd Benchemsi) to take him to the drop, but he’s being chased by men with guns. So he jumps into the first taxi he sees instead. The driver is Korean expat Kim Pan-su (Ju Ji-hoon), who is familiar with Min-jun’s superiors—he used to be a driver for the embassy, and was a resourceful young man would do errands for them. However, he is an ex-con, and a scam artist who can’t really be trusted. Min-jun offers Pan-su cash and tries to appeal to his sense of duty to his country, but his precious cab being shot at doesn’t really appeal to him, and Pan-su refuses to help. Or at least he feigns disinterest, suggesting that instead, perhaps an American Visa would help grease the wheels of his taxi. And so Min-jun agrees, and the two head off. (So who’s scamming whom?!)

Pan-su knows how to navigate the dangerous city and its warring factions. However, the pair soon find themselves being pursued not only by the corrupt cops, but now a local militia as well—they have also heard about the ransom and want to get their hands on the money first. Meanwhile, with a presidential election and the bid for the 1988 Summer Olympics coming up, the government wants to cover up the abduction to avoid any bad press in case things go awry, which makes the situation even more precarious for Min-jun. Can Min-jun trust Pan-su to help him stay alive, make the ransom drop, and bring Secretary Oh back home, or is he just yet another party after the money, and who’s going to leave him stranded?!

Ransomed is inspired by true events, but the characters, story elements, and specific details have been fictionalized. The result is a really entertaining film, with a unique tone. It’s both an action-packed thriller as well as a buddy-action-comedy, and it really excels at both. When Min-jun arrives in Beirut, the stakes feel very real, and that his life is actually in danger. He’s being pursued by men with guns who won’t hesitate to kill him for the ransom money. And that’s just the start of his problems—Lebanon is a dangerous place, with shootouts and explosions around every corner, and even deadly wild animals. There’s also political moves happening back at home that threaten to put him in even more danger. The film does a nice job of building the tension and putting the duo into increasingly dangerous and deadly situations.

But that doesn’t mean the film can’t also have a lot of fun. It’s set in the 80s, and has a similar feel to those great action films of that era, such as Lethal Weapon. Min-jun and Pan-su are opposites of one another. While Min-jun is more by-the-books and a loyal civil servant, Pan-su is more of a free-spirited wild card, who dresses flashy. They don’t really get along at first, but form this appreciation and friendship over the course of the film. They are constantly trying to one-up one another, but there’s this mutual respect and connection that develops. The two actors have great chemistry with one another, and it’s a blast to see them play off one another. The film does a nice job of fleshing out their characters so that they don’t just feel one-dimensional. You really come to care about these two guys, and the film builds to a surprisingly emotional finale.

In addition to the more standard action film moments, the film also has a lot of physical humor, with the score changing to help emphasize this more comedic tone. When we first meet Min-jun, he’s upset that a junior co-worker got a promotion over him, and he takes out his frustrations on his colleague’s congratulatory flowers when he’s alone in the office. Several times we also see Min-jun in precarious situations, high up in buildings, and he has to find creative (and often humorous) ways to make his way back to the ground. There’s also a fun moment when Pan-su attempts to snatch the bag of cash from a sleeping Min-jun, desperately trying not to wake him up. The filmmakers do a nice job of switching between the humor and the action/drama to keep things both exciting and entertaining throughout.

Well Go USA has released Ransomed on digital format, but no physical release has been announced at this time. Normally in my reviews, I would comment on the audio and video presentation of the release, but since I watched this film via a watermarked screener, I’m not sure how it compares to the final quality of the consumer product. That said, the audio and video quality on my screener was excellent. The film is presented in its original Korean language, though there are portions where the characters speak English or other languages. The subtitles are well-written and easy to follow, however (at least on my screener) did not provide captions for any of the English dialogue. I’m not sure if there will be a “Full English” subtitle option like Well Go often offers on its disc releases.

What’s Included:

Digital specs may vary by platform/retailer.

Film: (2:12:24)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: Korean Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English

Extras:

No bonus material included

Final Thoughts:

Ransomed is a fun and entertaining cross between action-thriller and buddy-action-comedy. Set in the 1980s, it has a similar tone to the buddy-cop action-comedy films of that era. The two leads have great chemistry, and the film talks viewers on a really fun ride. Well Go has not announced a physical release for the film as of yet, but the digital release is certainly worth checking out.