Home > Action >

Hostage

Watch Now

Hostage (2005)

March. 11,2005
|
6.5
|
R
| Action Thriller Crime
Watch Now

When a mafia accountant is taken hostage on his beat, a police officer – wracked by guilt from a prior stint as a negotiator – must negotiate the standoff, even as his own family is held captive by the mob.

...

Watch Trailer

Cast

Similar titles

Reviews

Linbeymusol
2005/03/11

Wonderful character development!

More
BootDigest
2005/03/12

Such a frustrating disappointment

More
Beanbioca
2005/03/13

As Good As It Gets

More
BelSports
2005/03/14

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

More
debdshaw60
2005/03/15

Not only is the source material, a book of the same name by Robert Crais, the movie is edge of your seat brilliant from the first minute to the last. FANTASTIC performances by the entire cast. Brilliant cinematography. I think the creepiest bad guy on film in the character of Mars, played by Ben Foster. He haunts my nightmares!There are some standard plot elements but they are so brilliantly fit together with twists and turns you don't even notice on the first viewing. I saw this first on the big screen where it's really massively effective, particularly in the close up sequences. But it translates very well to the small screen.Enjoy the film, read the book. Both are brilliant and the book will flesh out the film. Robert Crais is a genius!

More
chrislef21
2005/03/16

A year after a hostage situation, which sees a man holding his wife and son at gunpoint goes tragically wrong, former L.A. negotiator Jeff Talley (played brilliantly by Bruce Willis) is now chief of police at a small town in California. However it's not long before his previous skills are called upon. Three teenagers set out to rob wealthy businessman Walter Smith, but events take a turn for the worse when a local police officer is shot dead by one of the boys, as she arrives at the house in response to the silent alarm, triggered by Smith's young son Tommy. Traumatized by the death of his officer, Talley leaves the case to the Sheriff's department and heads for home. Soon enough though he is back at the scene though as, unbeknownst to all involved the now unconscious Smith, embroiled in money-laundering for a crime syndicate, had encrypted bank details to a DVD, and eager to retrieve it and having seen Talley on the news, they kidnap his wife and daughter and insist on him re-taking charge. The tension mounts throughout the movie as things inside the house go from bad to worse, and Talley is not only fighting to save the hostages, but the lives of his wife and daughter too. Bruce Willis is on top form in this great action thriller, and there are some remarkable performances from the rest of the cast too, especially Jonathan Tucker as 'Dennis', and young Jimmy Bennett as 'Tommy Smith'. Ben Foster is outstanding as 'Mars' one of the teenage boys, who is far more psychotic than even his associates realise. This is a terrific movie and manages to keep the pace going throughout.

More
Python Hyena
2005/03/17

Hostage (2005): Dir: Florent Siri / Cast: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Barry Foster, Jonathan Tucker, Rumer Willis: Standard action thriller about closure and affliction. Unfortunately the only closure viewers will have after watching this affliction is the exit door when the lights come on. Bruce Willis plays a hostage negotiator placed in a position where three teenage males take a wealthy family hostage. He also learns that his wife and daughter are kidnapped so that he may retrieve a disc from inside the mansion. This all winds down to a mindless shootout full of clichés and as much nonsense as possible. Director Florent Siri handles the action effectively using various passageways in the mansion to add interest but that hardly saves the film. Willis is basically playing Die Hard where his fate is to have a fist fight or blow stuff up. Kevin Pollak spends most of the film unconscious although considering how bad the film is he can be thankful. Barry Foster and Jonathan Tucker play two of the crazed teens who must have been forced at gunpoint to participate in this mess. Finally we have Bruce's daughter Rumer Willis in a wasted appearance that furthers nothing. This is one of the dumbest films to insult the action genre in a long time, and it goes without saying that the competition is stiff. When the mansion goes up in flames nobody thought to put the screenplay in the fire. Score: 3 / 10

More
ArdourFilm
2005/03/18

I recently wrote a review on 'Hostage' for an English assessment. Here's the finished product.Hostage is a crime thriller released in 2005. The movie is directed by Florent-Emilio Siri and is an adaptation of Robert Crais's novel. The main star is Bruce Willis accompanied by Kevin Pollack, Jimmy Bennett, Michelle Horn, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker and Marshall Allman. Each character is so unique and portrayed in a very believable manner, with the coarse language heightening the intensity of the situation. Foreshadowing has been written into the plot and allows for many twists and turns that leave you taken aback.Los Angeles LAPD negotiator Jeff Talley (Willis), is shattered by an unsuccessful hostage situation which results in him taking a job as Chief of Police in a small town in California with a low crime rate, however the past has come back to haunt him as three delinquent teenagers take a family hostage, only intending to steal their car. What the three young teenagers do not realize is that they are walking into a much larger situation that they definitely have not planned for. The youngest of the three, Kevin(Allman) is the one being dragged into it all; he does not want to take any part in it but his older brother Dennis (Tucker) gets him to do his dirty work while he figures out a plan to get them all out of this situation with a little extra cash on the side. The menacing character that is Mars (Foster) and his unpredictable nature leads to events that quickly spiral out of control. As the hostage situation progresses into the night, things turn for the worse for Chief Talley which is certainly not expected.The film score for Hostage is created by Alexandre Desplat featuring the London Symphony Orchestra. There is a feeling of eerie suspense which is done by using discordant strings, piano, guitar, recorder, electronic cello and his daughter's haunting vocals which occur throughout the film. Since the majority of the film is shot at night, Florent- Emilio Siri uses backlighting and shadowing which creates very atmospheric scenes. The extreme long shot used when the three teenagers are following the family home emphasizes just how secluded the location is. Close up shots intensify the emotions and reactions of the characters while the full shots allow us viewers to read the characters body language. One of the main special effects they use for this film is flames for the raging fire. Costumes and make-up are made to portray very believable characters. The blood, the bloodied clothes, the sweat and tears and the police uniforms convey a sense of reality.Since Florent- Emilio Siri has only directed five other projects (one being a video game) which are all in French it is hard to compare Hostage to them, although Doug Richardson who wrote the screenplay for Hostage has worked with Bruce Willis before. Looking at Doug's filmography it clearly shows that he likes to work on Action/Thriller and Action/Comedy movies. Some movies similar to Hostage in the way that the main character/s is held captive are Firewall, The Call, Red Eye and Disturbia. Florent and his team of directors, writers and actors are very successful with this movie; it is extremely difficult to find any fault with it. Thriller fans everywhere must think along the same lines since it has accumulated over $77 million.Hostage is a dark, intense, edge of your seat thriller that will leave you guessing till the very end. The cast is outstanding, the plot is original and is just downright one of Bruce Willis's best performances. This movie is recommended to movie-goers aged 15 or over, thriller fans or not, who will appreciate what this dark drama has to offer. The rating this movie is going to receive is 5 stars. This is a must see!

More