The Terrorists (1974)

Original title: Ransom

Director: Caspar Wrede

Writer: Paul Wheeler

Composer: Jerry Goldsmith

Starring: Sean Connery, Ian McShane, Jeffry Wickham, Isabel Dean, John Quentin, Robert Harris, James Maxwell, William Fox

More info: IMDb

Tagline: SKYJACK. KIDNAP. A time-bomb of suspense has started ticking. Two nations are being held for ransom and... Sean Connery is the agent who takes on The Terrorists

Plot: A gang of hijackers led by Ray Petrie (McShane) seize a British plane as it is landing in Scandinavia. Ruthless military police chief Colonel Tahlvik (Connery) is assigned to rescue the plane and its passengers. But he must also deal with the problem of the British Ambassador, whose residence has been seized by a second group of terrorists.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I'm a huge Connery fan and I'm slowly making my way through is filmography.  While he's always fun or at least tries with every picture, his movies don't always share those traits.  With Ian McShane as the bad guy, you'd think this combination would be at least make for a good thriller.  It's OK.  Since Petrie's (McShane) action is almost entirely on an airplane and Tahlvik's (Connery, and who cares that he's playing a Scandinavian, right?) is in a room (different rooms but still rooms where's he's on the phone, walkie talkie or looking out of windows with binoculars), there's not much movement in this thriller, making it...well, uh, thrilling.  Jerry Goldsmith's manly score helps but there are times where his music has a great sense of urgency when there's nothing of the sort on screen.  The last few minutes has Connery boarding the plane to save the day and his reputation as a badass.  The biggest disappointment is the lack of tension and presenting a middle of the road thriller that could've easily been made for TV (sans Connery of course).  The Anchor Bay DVD looks good (anamorphic widescreen) but the only extras are trailers for this film (a teaser and theatrical trailer), THE LONGEST DAY, ZARDOZ (all anamorphic wide) and ENTRAPMENT and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (both non anamorphic wide).