The Age of Commercialism

Simply Perfect

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

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

While a bit slow and mildly interesting this particular Trevor Eve "staring off into space while not saying anything" offering features one of the most glaring plot holes I have ever experienced...... In the second episode we discover that the female kidnap victim has been released at a bargain price, after being stolen from another set of two bit kidnappers, essentially to get access to her husbands formula for an anti-obesity drug worth billions.While this apparently takes too long for the professional kidnappers, they proceed to kidnap the daughter of the original victim to force the husband of the returned victim to reveal the formula....... What?? Why not simply kidnap the weak willed sissy of a husband? .... Why involve anyone else at all?? .... It is clearly apparent that anyone the least bit skilled in interrogation cold turn the punk husband in about two hours...... After all, the pros consisted of experienced international mercenaries supposedly...... I couldn't get by this particular glaring bit of story line and it definitely colored my appreciation for the entire thing.If one cannot accept the premise, one cannot accept the punchline.

"Kidnap and Ransom" is an exciting series out of Britain.Trevor Eve plays Dominic King, a war hero who is now a hostage negotiator. Corporations take out insurance policies on their most important people in certain countries in case they are kidnapped.I'll say right off, I did love these episodes but I don't understand corporations doing this -- doesn't it just invite people in countries like India to kidnap important employees? In fact, that's what it looks like on the show because it seems like these kidnappers all have big paydays.Dominic King makes a deal with the kidnappers, sometimes for less money, as long as the victim is kept alive and returned.These two episodes (both in three parts) are negotiations that, let's say, don't go so well. Both are bone-chilling, suspenseful, and thrilling. I wish there were more.Trevor Eve is wonderful as a solemn, quiet man, not without his own problems in his marriage and with his daughter. When he negotiates, it's with an iron glove rather than a fist -- he remains calm and measured throughout.All of the acting is very good, with Eve taking top honors. In the second episode, Sharon Small from Inspector Lynley has a role as the daughter of people stuck on a hijacked bus.Highly recommended.

There's not much to the story so they pad it with lots of shaky cam, extreme badly framed close ups, weird flashy edits overlayed with odd photo filter effects. You're supposed to be swept up in the urgency of harsh jagged cuts from scene to scene most of which are 45 seconds or less. The average shot is 1 second. There are all sorts of factual errors such South Africans kidnapping a Brit asking for dollars which is not a denomination in either country. Dominic's boss is a tool who screams and scolds him about nearly everything. And at the end of the day being a hostage negotiator doesn't look that hard. Pretty much paint by numbers. By the way if you're so valuable to your company they'd carry millions of dollars in kidnap insurance wouldn't they hire a bodyguard?

I do agree one or two parts are on the far-fetched side, and the ending could have been more. But Kidnap and Ransom made for quite gripping television and I was really impressed.Visually it is very striking, not just the photography which is skillful and the lighting which adds to the atmosphere but also the locations which are well chosen and used to great effect. The story is well paced and very gripping with some suitably tense moments, there is a cracking script and good direction.The acting also impresses, Trevor Eve is excellent in the lead as is John Hannah as the main villain. Emma Fielding is also smashing, evoking genuine emotion when she needed to. The characters are credible too, there is the odd cliché here and there, but with the writing and acting as good as they are I actually didn't mind.Overall, a very gripping, interesting and well-acted series drama and definitely worth it. 8/10 Bethany Cox