Final Recourse (2013) (aka: Taken for Ransom) Teri Polo, Chazz Palminteri, Tia Carrere, Lucas Elliot Eberl, Matt Socia, Morgana Shaw, Paul Vincent Blue Movie Review

Final Recourse (2013)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Teri Polo in Final Recourse (2013) (aka: Taken for Ransom)

Extreme Turkey

Brooke Holton (Teri Polo - Christmas Angel) is not only a wife and mother but also an incredibly successful and wealthy business woman. But it is her inability to let go when it comes to work that leads to a tragedy when checking her phone whilst driving her son to a match they are involved in a major car accident which kills her son. It leaves Brooke a pill popping, alcohol swilling wreck that chain smokes even in the doctor's office. With her husband, Albert (Matt Socia), not only concerned for Brooke's mental state but also the safety of their daughter he wants Brooke to get some help as he takes their daughter to stay with his mum for a few days. But the minute he is out of the door Brooke's life appears to be in danger as she is kidnapped by a man and woman who make her sign a suicide note and take her to a remote building where their boss, Jerry (Chazz Palminteri - Once More with Feeling) awaits them.

That plot outline to "Final Recourse", which also goes by the name of "Taken for Ransom", does not actually do the movie justice but you see that synopsis really only covers the first 20 minutes and there is a lot more movie to follow which builds on things in an intriguing manner. Whilst I don't like to give spoilers away, to even make "Final Recourse" sound more than the cliche it seems I need to reveal a bit more.

Chazz Palminteri in Final Recourse (2013) (aka: Taken for Ransom)

So as I said that synopsis to "Final Recourse" barely covers the first 20 minutes and when Brooke finds herself being held hostage in a remote prison like set up she goes through cold turkey as she has no pills, alcohol or cigarettes and after a while she begins to see things more clearly as she realises that her husband and daughter's lives are in danger. And so this movie typically leads to her taking control back and trying to escape in order to save her family. But is all as it seems because there are a mix of the typical and the strange going on with a young boy who is also being held hostage with her, whilst earlier on there is a scene of a clandestine meeting between Albert and Brooke's assistant.

Now I will tell you how my mind worked as this all took place. I wondered whether maybe Brooke's husband and assistant were secret lovers and were trying to rid themselves of Brooke or maybe this was an elaborate form of therapy to make her wake up from her self destructive state. Or maybe there is something else afoot which is a mix of what I was thinking of. It means that "Final Recourse" is genuinely an intriguing movie which also features nice performances from Teri Polo and Chazz Palminteri with Palminteri once again delivering that air of controlled menace about his character.

The thing is that there is something about "Final Recourse" which is amiss and I put it down to atmosphere as whilst the actors play their parts well the whole thing moves along in an ordinary way. It is a shame as just that extra bit of style and the little bit more time to explore light and shade and this could have been much more than it ended up being.

What this all boils down to is that "Final Recourse" is an entertaining movie which has a nice amount of intrigue about it which leads you to think certain things but never to the extent of being too sure of whether what you think is going on really is. The one trouble it has is that it lacks a sense of atmosphere and tension to make it really come to life.


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