The Worst Film Ever

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A lot of fun.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

This modern take on the hostage genre is nowhere near as good as THE NEGOTIATOR, but it's still pretty decent, thanks to Bruce Willis being in the title role. Willis ditched his two-dimensional, wise-guy persona a long time ago, and his acting here is excellent; he brings life and manner to the clichéd role of the world-weary cop, and you really feel he has a heart in this film.The plot is well thought out, and there are lots of twists and surprising turns before the end, to keep you entertained. The script is tight and realistic and I loved the film's dark, moody camera-work. The acting is generally sound; the three young criminals are very good indeed, as are the family who are taken hostage.The only place the film really lets you down is the fiery climax, which looks good but seems a bit hollow; I could have done without the cheesy chase scene in the air duct system, which belongs in a horror film, not here. Otherwise, though, HOSTAGE is a good, clean thriller, and dark and gritty enough to be worth a watch.

When a family (father and 2 children) are taken hostage by 3 men it's down to officer Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) and his team to step in and try to rescue the family from this terrifying ordeal. An already tricky situation for Talley is made worse when he learns that the father is working for some criminals who are after a special disc that he has in his house. This 'other' gang kidnap Talley's wife and child and threaten to kill them both unless Talley is able to recover the disc for them. Talley now has the unenviable task of trying to appease his family's kidnappers whilst also trying to rescue the 'kidnapped' family.Hostage is a film based on a novel by Robert Crais and the screenplay has been adapted by Doug Richardson. I've no idea what the novel is like, but Richardson's screenplay throws up so many unlikely scenarios that it quickly becomes hard to take any of it seriously. Here are a few things that I noticed.....1) Before the 3 youths kidnap the family they discuss stealing the father's car and this seems to be their intention when they enter the property. Once in the property, they decide (for whatever reason) to kidnap the family, even though they had no real reason to??? If all they wanted was the car then why didn't they just make the father hand over the keys and drive off with the vehicle??? This whole scenario just made no sense to me.2) The 3 youths follow the family home and wait outside their home before they decide to try to gain entry. The house has CCTV all over the place and has numerous panic switches (which to me suggests that the father is security conscious and for good reason). Yet the 3 youths seem to be able to gain access to the property without any trouble. How exactly did they get in? Was the front door unlocked? This again seems ridiculous. Silly plot contrivances such as these will always drag a film down no matter how exciting or fast-paced they are.Despite some of these issues The Hostage is a film that pretty much does 'exactly what it says on the tin'. It moves relatively fast over its 105 minute running time and proves to be a thrilling enough experience. There aren't really any surprises in store but director Florent-Emilio Siri provides enough action,claustrophobia and nicely framed set-pieces to compensate for the predictable screenplay. I also liked the comic book style opening credits even though I'm not quite sure why opening credits of this type were used when the source novel was not a comic?? The performances are mostly what you'd expect here; Bruce Willis is good but this is the sort of thing that he can do in his sleep. I also noticed that Bruce Willis' real-life daughter was in the film and I'm assuming that his presence in this film was the only reason that she was included in the film as she was barely in it and contributed very little (apart from having a tantrum at the start). The standout performance for me was that of Ben Foster whose quirky and creepy character made the film that little bit more interesting. It's a pity that his character wasn't developed all that well - I thought initially that a Stockholm Syndrome was developing between his character and the daughter, but it never played out in this manner which is a shame as again this probably would have made it a stronger film. The supporting performers were OK, but for me it was Foster that made the biggest impression.Hostage is another in a long line of 'switch off your brain' action thrillers and if you're prepared to do just that and go with the flow then there is certainly plenty to enjoy here.

Bruce Willis does it again! Great action movie, great plot, great acting! Everything you want from an action film. Hostage is a good action/thriller featuring the always reliable Bruce Willis and some brief appearances by Kevin Pollack. The movie starts off with an intense scene as we are introduced to Willis's hostage negotiator character Jeff Talley. Shorty after that situation ends wrongly we pick up 2 years later as he has since left that role and settled for a boring small town sheriff's position. Little does he know he will soon find himself thrust back into that dangerous world of negotiating for his own family while trying to save another from the bad guys.Hostage (2005) is a great decent thriller from Bruce Willis, that also involves humans as hostages. Three guys takes under siege a house while they were trying to rob the house, a cop comes to check the disturbance and they boys shoot her down and killed her. Only one negotiator is available and he is the perfect men for the job former SWAT officer Jeff Talley who used to be big city hostage negotiator who has now become a chief of the police in a sleepy town. He has do everything the save the hostages and prevent killers by killing anyone else. I seriously I Love the intense, the mystery and mostly the acting. Specially the stand off and the house been in a flame. I love how Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) saved those two kids from been killed off in the burning house.The movie is terrifying, Ben Foster who plays Mars Krupcheck scares so much and gives me a lot of creeps. The underrated actor acted perfectly a scary murderous sociopath who would stop at nothing to kill everyone on his way. The movie also involves extortion not only the house siege but is also exertion the mob wants the disc that is stashed in the house and Jeff Talley is forced to save the kids from the perpetrators and saving his own family from the mob assassins. This movie is awesome, Kevin Pollak also did a great job in this movie and he was pretty good at acting. The most amazing about this movie is Rumer Willis she is Bruce Willis daughter who also plays Jeff Talley's daughter Amanda who also get's sieged in the van from the mob. Seriously this movies is great thriller that is based on the novel by Robert Crais. It is worth of watch and you want be disappointed, it is one of my favorite Bruce Willis movies. It is a 9 for me.It is a pretty good movie.. mixing many different genres that all blend well into a suspenseful action flick. Willis gives a strong performance as Jeff Talley, a Hostage negotiator who deals with high octane circumstances. It is compelling and a great thriller that will rattle your mind. 9/10 Score: B+ Studio: Miramax, Stratus Film Co., Cheyenne Enterprises Starring: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker, Jimmy Bennett, Michelle Horn, Marshall Allman, Serena Scott Thomas, Rumer Willis, Kim Coates, Robert Knepper,Marjean Holden Director: Florent Emilio Siri Screenplay: Doug Richardson, Robert Crais Producers: Mark Gordon, Arnold Rifkin, Bruce Willis, Bob Yari, David Wally Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hrs. 53 Mins. Budget: $75.000.000 Box Office: $77,944,725

A Nasty, Moodish, and Bloody Neo-Noir Thriller that is Ultra-Stylish and Convoluted, not Quite Edge of Your Seat but is Edgy Enough for a Guilty Pleasure that can make You Feel Comfortably Numb if that is Your Inclination.Yes, it is more of the Same but it Dresses its Sameness in Dark, Gothic, Sharply Defined Artistry that has a Graphic Novel Feel. Bruce Willis is the Center of all the Hubbub and Bub there is a lot, probably too much, Rotating around the Hub of this Story.Ben Foster, Channeling Trent Reznor, Stands Out by Standing Around like some sort of Devil Dude with Distinctively Demonic Eyes and Expressionless Behaviour. He is Contrasted by the Sweaty, Drooling, Crunched Faced Overacting by Jonathan Tucker, that one can only Hope will be the First to Die. The rest of the Cast is Fine and Expectedly Frantic.The Cinematography is Deep Gloom with a Sheen of Shadows that somehow Manages to Bring along some Color and it Looks quite Different and adds much to the Tone of the Film. This seems to be all About Look and Not Much Else and that's OK for this Type of Thing.