Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:625
Members who trust:55
In the eighties if you needed a star for an action movie then you called either Sly or Arnie for the muscle and little else. If you needed a bit of acting then you called Bruce Willis. The first two have seemingly retired although Stallone is shortly to release another Rocky movie. Willis has moved on from the Die Hards and Last Action Hero's with comedies and solid genre films like The Sixth Sense.
I suppose Hostage is Willis in retired action hero mode. He plays Jeff Talley, a hostage negotiator who swaps a pressurized job for small town life as a police chief when a negotiation goes wrong. In this small town very little happens in respect to crime. But then a group of youths break into a magnificent house in the hills and attempt to steal a high-end car. Their attempts at mild threats soon escalate and become a hostage situation. This is when Talley is called into play to utilize his former skills. But there is something in the house that is very valuable to some crooks, so much so that they kidnap Talley's family and use him as a pawn in a tense game of negotiations, shouting and helicopters.
Hostage starts out well with some interesting opening titles. The opening sequence of a hostage situation is very well staged apart from the casting of military/secret service ginger guy from 24 and various other films where he plays military or someone in authority. Anyway the whole build-up of the film is quite nice, slowly setting the stage and establishing characters. But then it starts to go off the rails. Once the crowds descend, people get involved and everything kicks off the movie becomes a confusing mess. The hostage movie doesn't really offer a great deal of interest unless you've got some kind of hook. For example, Inside Man has a hostage situation but mixes it up with interesting ideas and conflicts. This movie is fairly straightforward with phone negotiation; the typical personality clashes between those in charge. We also never know what exactly is on the disc the bad guys want, we don't even know who the bad guys are and what their motives may be. You'd think that criminal masterminds would have some way of not getting caught over a simple dvd.
Willis is perfectly fine in the lead role, he plays the normal kind of guy well. I was thrilled to see T-Bag from Prison Break in the movie as well, sadly at no point did he offer his picket to anyone - this was most disappointing. Hostage has an annoying kid in it like most crime thrillers involving kids, this one has a particularly cringe worthy scene between said kid and Willis where they talk about video games. Ben Foster does a slight riff on his moody git from Six Feet Under but it's just not interesting.
In fact by the end of the film I was just bewildered, as the makers seemed to just throw stuff at the screen in a constant barrage to see what stuck. It's frustrating as there are some nice ideas in there it's just that they're not that well executed.
DVD DETAILS
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1
Everything looks fine with the picture quality of Hostage on DVD. But it's a modern film so you'd come to expect it. The soundtrack has some good moments in the final third of the film with helicopters, fire and general mayhem.
I got this dvd on a rental and there wasn't a single extra to be found. To be honest I wouldn't be inclined to find out as this is a movie you can wait to see on TV.
- Finally -
On the Willis scale of quality, Hostage is closer to Striking Distance than Die Hard.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
You get two hostage crises for the price of one inHostage, an overwrought but otherwise ... more
involving thriller grounded by Bruce Willis's solid lead performance. Making a dramatic pit-stop on his way toDie Hard 4, Willis plays a traumatized former Los Ange...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
You get two hostage crises for the price of one inHostage, an overwrought but otherwise ... more
involving thriller grounded by Bruce Willis's solid lead performance. Making a dramatic pit-stop on his way toDie Hard 4, Willis plays a traumatized former Los Ange...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Would you sacrifice another family to save your own? Bruce Willis stars as a small-town ... more
cop Jeff Talley; chief of Police in the sleepy town of Bristo Camino. Leaving behind the trauma of his career as a big city hostage negotiator Talley finds himse...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Fantastic one liners, the arguments between the family members and Denis Leary/Kevin Spacey! Hilarious!! Disadvantages: Slow start and it could've been a longer film...ah well!!
fenerg 03.05.2001 (01.12.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Hostile HostagesDVD
![Hostage [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/80048749.jpg "Hostage [DVD]")
![Hostage [DVD] [2005]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78503373.jpg "Hostage [DVD] [2005]")
Apr 8th, 2006
very helpful by (91%):
helpful by (9%):
