Bruce Willis plays an LAPD hostage negotiator named Jeff Talley.
When he's unable to talk a deranged man out of killing himself and his family,
Talley quits the LAPD and moves to a small town in California where he becomes
their chief of police. Yet things can even go wrong in small town America as
three local teenage thugs named Dennis, Kevin and Mars decide to sneak into the
lavish home of the Smith family and steal their Escalade. But they don't count
on the young Tommy Smith tripping the silent alarm, and when things start to get
really out of control, the intruding thugs wind up killing one of Talley's
officers who came out to investigate the alarm.
They then take Walter Smith and his two kids hostage as the police surround the
home. With his little police department in way over its head on this case,
Talley gladly turns the hostage negotiations over to the county sheriff. But
Walter Smith became a wealthy man through some very shady dealings, and this
hostage situation has disrupted one of those deals. The people who were
expecting a package from Smith are very anxious. To ensure that they get what is
coming to them, Smith's "customers" abduct Talley's wife and daughter. Their
lives will be spared as long as Talley gets their package from Smith's house for
their kidnappers. With his own family now being held hostage by a group of
unknown masked men, Talley now has no choice but to reassume command of the
hostage negotiations--against the wishes of the county sheriff's office.
Hostage starts out as your typical burnt-out cop movie, but as it slowly builds
up its story, it effectively evolves into an enthralling thriller with Willis'
character breaking all the rules--as well as a few laws--in his Herculean effort
to get the package for the kidnappers, while trying to save his own family, and
at the same time spare the lives of the family that's being held hostage by the
teenage thugs. It's a nearly an impossible tightrope for him to walk, but
watching him make the attempt is what makes this film so gripping. Willis, and
the rest of the cast are superb in their roles, especially the child actors, who
are sympathetic without coming off as being sappy or coy. And another notable
performance is Ben Foster, who is excellent as the creepy Mars, and Kevin Pollak
is solid as Walter Smith. The DVD special features are pretty slim, including
just a commentary by the director, Florent Siri, a better than average 'making
of' documentary, as well as deleted and extended scenes. But the real reason to
get this DVD is the film itself. Despite the fact that it can be a bit overwrought at times,
with its countless twists and nail-biting
suspense, this flick will easily make you a hostage to your TV for a few hours. --SF
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