About me:Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
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Review rated by 15 Ciao members on average: very helpful
This review received a counterstatement by a party concernedRead Comment
Proof of Life was Russell Crowe's follow up film to the epic gladiator. His elevated star status and of course that brief flirtation with Meg Ryan could have led to some box office gold but instead this film was a bit of a dud. There is a reason for this and part of it is the fact that it was up against The Grinch.
Crowe plays Terry Thorne, a hostage retrieval expert who is brought in to negotiate the release of Peter Bowman. Ryan plays Alice Bowman the wife. Thorne tries to bring down the asking price for Bowman with the support of Alice but they soon find themselves attracted to each other. Cue love against difficult and un-knowing times?
Well no actually because I'm sure this was the intended plot but it never is fully realized. This was meant to be a film where these two people are attracted to each other even though they know it's wrong. However only once do we see any real spark between them and you can't base a 130 minute movie on that one moment. The plot ambles along with some other negotiators thrown in including David Caruso and we get the usual enemy/hero verbal battles. Eventually it all ends in a bit of warfare that somehow doesn't ring true.
This is by no means a bad film but it's not one to go shouting from the rooftops. Any chemistry between Ryan and Crowe is non-existent or never played on. The more interesting moments don't involve either of them and come from David Morse as Peter Bowman as he struggles as a prisoner.
Hackford's direction takes a number of good looking locations but it's a shame as much attention wasn't paid to the script. There are some ritty battle scenes towards the end that are well shot but at the end of the day you really come out feeling severly underwhelmed.
If it weren't for Crowe and his commanding presence this film wouldn't even have a degree of quality whatsoever. This is more a testement to Crowe's acting ability more than anything else. Ryan on the other hand is a bit flat and I can't hepl but feel an actress with more weight in the dramatic department would have been better. Morse is as solid as ever.
modities: the exploration of an original idea. Kidnapping may have graced our screens in the likes ofRansom, but the revelatory material here exposes a billion dollar industry....
modities: the exploration of an original idea. Kidnapping may have graced our screens in the likes ofRansom, but the revelatory material here exposes a billion dollar industry....
s. Rebels in a politically volatile Latin American country have kidnapped her husband for ransom. Meg Ryan plays Alice and Russell Crowe plays Terry Thorne the hostage re...
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13.09.2001 23:31
Interesting and well-written review.
13.09.2001 20:23
Doesen't sound great, think I'll give it a miss Cheers-Matt :)