Hostages (2017)

As Good As It Gets

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Es una película que se mantiene muy alejada del espectador. No consigue engancharte nunca. No entiendes muy bien los motivos de nada, no sabes cómo se les pudo ir tanto de las manos y no entiendes como se confundieron tanto al hacer las cosas. Los actores están bien, pero la mayoría son demasiado herméticos.La iluminación que tendría que crear un clima muy especial, entre frio y tenso. Solo crea un ambiente seco. No llega a transmitir nada ni apoya la narración.La dirección para mi gusto está un poco perdida. El ritmo se le va de las manos. Te llega a aburrir en algún momento. Parece que le gusta hacer los planos de una manera, pero luego rueda otros planos de otra manera totalmente distinta. No hay una unión de nada. Algunos planos son terriblemente feos y mal hechos.He aprendido otro capítulo de la URSS pero más allá no va It is a film that stays very far from the viewer. It never gets hooked. You do not understand very well the reasons for anything, you do not know how they could get so out of hand and you do not understand how they got so confused when doing things.The actors are fine, but most are too hermetic.The lighting that would have to create a very special climate, between cold and tense. It only creates a dry environment. He does not transmit anything or support the narrative.The address for my taste is a little lost. The rhythm is getting out of hand. It gets boring at some point. It seems that he likes to do the plans in one way, but then he rolls other planes in a totally different way. There is not a union of anything. Some planes are terribly ugly and badly made.I have learned another chapter of the USSR but beyond it it is not going

I can't deny the technical strengths of the film. The film is well done. The performances across the board are strong, the cinematography gripping and effective for the kind of story being told, and the screenplay never feels exploitative. However, it's not exactly an enjoyable film to watch. I definitely do recommend it as a piece of filmmaking, but it's one that's hard to love. Still, one can't deny the impact the film has. I think the mysterious incident at the core of it does cloud it in mystery, and the film rightfully doesn't want to give easy answers or excuses for the behaviors shown.

This so called "movie" is so awful. Don't waste your time and money. Seems like it's producers had been buying tickets themselves and paid for the reviews to ensure interest and ratings.Terrorists are shown as good guys. What? They say that this so called movie is based on reality. It's a big fat lie. You won't see the real facts: how these animals tortured women and children, how they did all of this just because they craved for popularity and money, how they laughed while killing people, how enormous their cruelty was. And how almost all of the terrorists were "Golden Children", whose rich parents tried to buy them out with their millions afterwards. And how those parents sponsored the book this so called movie is based on. Maybe they sponsored this too? Imagine if some crazy liar makes a movie with the idea that 9/11 terrorists were nice people that rebelled the regime and we all are just too stupid to understand them?! I was told that the director Rezo is a Russian Gigolo, who has no real job. Well, "Hostages" is a proof that if you are good on a couch, you'd better stay on a couch and don't annoy people with your face-palm creativity.

I watched the movie the night of the premiere in Tbilisi, I had read a book based on the events. The Book is called (Flight from USSR) and I recommend it to anyone who sees the movie and finds it interesting.The book is in fact worth reading, when the film ended I was hearing mixed reviews from the audience, most of whom were confused over what they saw, just like me. I who had read the book, found the movie complex. I imagine for those who had not read the book or for people from other countries it would be harder to understand because we grew up with this story and overall we know what was going on but others did/will not.Not to the point where they should understand.Sometimes I thought that the movie focused on stuff that did not really made sense or was not important at all.I thought that the director had emphasized on other details of the same story than the book I mentioned, like he wanted to say the same story with a different angle.On the other hand, The acting was great, I was blown away with the Wedding scene just like the airplane scene. To sum up my opinion I would like to say that it was a good movie in general but I would preferred if it was more like the book.