Hostage

Rating R Formats DVD Genre action Starring Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Jimmy Bennett, Jimmy Pinchak, Jonathan Tucker Directed by Florent Emilio Siri Publisher Miramax Films External Links Miramax

In Hostage, Bruce Willis plays Jeff Talley, a former Hostage negotiator in Los Angeles. Devastated by a tragedy in a negotiation gone wrong, Talley resigns and eventually accepts the low pressure, low profile job of Chief of Police in the sleepy town of Bristo Camino. On an average Monday morning, Talley is pulled back into his former life and set on a course that could change him forever.

Three delinquent teens follow the Smith family home intending to steal their car. They wind up trapped in the multi-million dollar compound and in a panic they take the family Hostage. The situation escalates as they shoot an officer investigating the alarm at the house and Talley is called to the scene faced with the same situation he never wanted to be in again. To make matters worse, the father, Walter Smith (Pollak), is an accountant for a shadowy criminal organization. That organization desperately needs an item from the house and they take Talley's family Hostage to ensure that they are able to get what they need. Faced with saving an innocent family and his own family, Talley must find the strength to deal with the worst day of his life.

Bruce Willis is playing a character in Hostage that we have seen many times before. Jeff Talley is basically a less bombastic and more vulnerable version of John McClane of Die Hard fame. In fact, with just a little revision, Hostage could have very easily become a Die Hard sequel. That said, it's a role that we have come to love Bruce Willis in. He is always good playing this character type and he does not disappoint here.

Overall, the cast is pretty strong. Kevin Pollak is under utilized as the criminal accountant, but he does a good job of conveying his character's motivations in the short time he is given. Ben Foster really shines as the main antagonist, Mars Krupcheck. Mars comes off very creepy and very disturbed and he provides some of the most suspenseful moments of the film.

In the commentaries, the director talks about wanting to make a tribute to film noir. The twists and turns of the story are there, but the style just never really comes across. In fact, some of the climactic scenes and others scattered throughout are just overly stylistic and really just do not fit the style of the rest of the movie. This is a fairly standard action movie and dressing up a few scenes with lighting and some lingering camera shots isn't going to change that.

All in all, Hostage is a fun movie to watch as long as it is taken for what it is. This probably could have been a decent sized summer popcorn movie, but for whatever reason it was released to little fanfare in March 2005. It's a good rental, but not much more.