What a stupid thing to say. Of course Bryan has some money, and Lenore and Stuart have lots of money. They could've easily paid ransom, and insurance would've covered it. Just imagine if the kidnappers were looking for ransom, and Bryan refused, so they killed Kim before Bryan even got on the plane to Paris.
shareWhy was that a stupid thing to say? What would you have him say instead? "If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I'm loaded. Ask anything you want."
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It's a stupid thing to say because if they were looking for ransom, and Bryan refused, they could've killed Kim. I know they weren't looking for ransom, but at the time Bryan didn't.
If I were him, I would've calmly and politely asked them what they wanted, and expressed full desire to cooperate. I know it seems cooler to act tough, but why would you risk getting your daughter killed?
Bryan didn't refuse ransom, he said he didn't have much to give them. If they'd have killed Kim over that, that means they were going to kill Kim anyway.
But you are right, of course: when someone has a dominant position over you, you shouldn't try to act tough. If you have the means to turn the tables, you don't talk about how you will turn the tables - you turn the tables.
Bryan isn't the kind to pay a ransom even if he does have money.
shareSaying "let me wire that ransom right over" doesn't sound nearly as cool.
shareHe already knew they weren't after ransom money. They couldn't know enough about their victims to be seeking ransom money.
With his background, Bryan already they were slave-traders who wouldn't be impressed by an unknown voice on the phone promising ransom or delivering threats.
As I see it, the primary reason for Bryan's whole threat-speech was to get the guy on the other end to say something, anything, so Bryan would have a clear recording of his voice.
Good point. He also needed an opportunity for his badass "What I do have is a particular set of skills..." line.
shareI just hope that no one ever kidnaps anyone close to me. I don't see how I'd be able to free them by juggling crayfish or wiggling my ears. And I'm almost certain the kidnappers wont get intimidated when I threaten them with that!
shareThey might be, if the kidnappers are crayfish.
shareYou could use Bryan’s exact speech against crayfish - it fits perfectly
"... what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for crayfish like you ... I will look for you, I will find you and I will juggle you"
Yup, it was the definition of badass
In-movie, it’s perfectly justified; it’s a direct challenge to the kidnapper’s machismo.
Bryan figured the kidnapper would need to prove how not-scared he was.
BTW - look up Liam Neeson arm-wresting, where he promises to deliver the same speech ... “I will find you, and I will kill you,” but he”ll be talking to WALDO
Later, he does offer to pay $500K for her. There is a very fine distinction (if any) between paying ransom and buying his daughter. They would have probably taken $100K at that point; or in any event far less than $500K. And when he offered to buy her for $500K, it sounded sincere; i.e. this did not sound like some ploy. I did not think he said this on the phone to the kidnapper as a ruse; it sounded sincere to me; i.e. let my daughter go or I'll kill you. (If he wanted to hear the guy's voice, then why not start to bargain with e.g. $1M? That should get a response.)
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