Hostage - Review Thread

[droidguy1119]

Hostage - Review Thread

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/droidguy1119b/review%20threads/hostageposter.jpg

Trailers
Trailer http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/hostage/
TV Spot http://video.craveonline.com/video/comingsoon/?showVideo=508&statsid=26&pid=1

Official Website
www.miramax.com/hostage

March 11th, 2005

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/droidguy1119b/review%20threads/hostage4.jpg

Hostage
A Review by Tyler Foster
for www.funkdiggityfresh.com

Hostage is Bruce Willis's best movie and performance since Pulp Fiction. It's the best action vehicle he's been in since Die Hard. If intensity was all that counted, it would be better than Die Hard. There's no comparison to the suspense. Hostage is exactly what a thriller should be. Quick prologue, some set up, and then suddenly, the movie just starts and refuses to stop until the final frame. All the muscles in my body ached when it ended because they were clenched the entire time. Yes, there's around a minute's worth of material in Hostage that doesn't work, but who the hell cares? Hostage is the first movie of 2005 that's completely worth the price of admission, and possibly the best pure suspense movie this critic's ever seen.

Forget a plot summary. Trying would be futile, not to mention a good way to ruin the surprises that Hostage has in store. Bruce Willis is a hostage negotiator -- and that's all the audience needs to know. The movie's various elements, like a macabre clockwork, all begin falling into place, each one twisting the situation with a whole new set of rules. The characters feel real, from Willis's Jeff Talley to the young Jimmy Bennett as Tommy Smith, one of the hostages, everyone in the movie is genuine, and it only makes the danger more frightening. The moment we only get to see one of them, when the focus is turned on a single character, is the moment everything feels unsafe.

Director Florent Siri hasn't done an American movie, but he is sure to get many more. The opening credits, almost like the beginning laid out with army men, is a nice touch (although the use of the Star Wars font is a bit distracting). However, there's no indication of where the movie is going to go from there, and it gets right to the surprises. The movie is shockingly violent and extremely disturbing, heading to the edges of cliffs and turning the corners of alleys where everything about the situation screams that it's the wrong way to go. Every choice in the movie is a hard one, the kinds of things that make you forget to breathe.

The movie was adapted by Robert Crais's novel by Doug Richardson, who is hard at work on Die Hard 4.0. Hostage is enough to erase all doubt about that sequel. While admittedly this critic hasn't read the book, it just feels like you would imagine a great book might read. The sensation that Richardson found the best things from the book that would translate to the screen and carefully perfected each one of them is all over Hostage, with the narrative unafraid to introduce multiple parties, surprise elements and small yet horrifying twists without worry that the audience is going to get confused. Hostage is a layered movie, not a confusing one.

The minute of footage mentioned earlier contains the smallest shreds of the movie that might have been expected from Hostage's trailer. Tiny bits of directorial indulgence, a few moments that very, very briefly might cause a laugh or two unintentionally, but nothing that can break down Hostage's bulletproof atmosphere. The worst is a few seconds near the finale where a bit of symbolism is driven too hard, but the fate of the characters hangs so much in the balance that it was hard for this critic to care. But this and the movie's other small blemishes are only mentioned because it has to be before someone goes off because it wasn't brought up here.

Hostage closes with the trickiest thriller move of all, an almost-but-not-quite surprise finale much like, say, the subway in Speed: a secret second wind. By the time the final frame appears on screen, and the circulation starts flowing again, this critic sat speechless in the theater. Hostage didn't look like much in theory, but it's much, much better than it had to or even deserved to be. Maybe it won't work the second time, maybe it's all in the surprise, and, no, Hostage doesn't try to be more than a suspense thriller; it's no Fight Club or Pulp Fiction. But it just doesn't matter, because when it's all finally over, there's nothing like the last overwhelming feeling Hostage brings to the table -- intense satisfaction.

Initial Experience: ****
[b]Stars (out of four): **1/2

Starring Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Jonathan Tucker, Ben Foster, Jimmy Bennett and Michelle Horn
Directed by Florent Siri
Miramax Films (2005) | 102 Minutes
Rated R for strong graphic violence, language and some drug use

Note: Just thought I'd let you folks know just in case you missed what might be obvious -- Miramax has attached the trailer to their subsidary studio Dimension's other huge Bruce Willis movie to Hostage, so if you're looking to see the unbridled awesomeness of the new Sin City trailer on the big screen (and who isn't?) it's just the cherry on the top of a great cake. The directing credits just send chills down my spine...

[cg124]

cool I'm glad it got a good score

[iv3rdawG]

A+??? Sheez

[iv3rdawG]

How bloody is the movie or violent. And do they cuss a lot? Like what words

[Ewok Droppings]

Awesome - I was looking forward to seeing this. :)

[Tornado]

Good. I've been waiting for this one. Nice review Tyler.

[droidguy1119]

Pretty violent, a lot of swearing.

[FilmJerk]

excellence

[spiderman_2k]

This has been so badly underadvertised and marketed here in the UK.

[ViRUs]

Its actually been underadvertised here too, not as bad but this movie looks awesome, and i havent seen too much of it on TV.

[DieselPower]

This movie has mixed reviews from the critics. But I will see it this weekend.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hostage/

[Glordreen]

I didnt plan on seeing it, but now I will see it. Great review droidguy.

[droidguy1119]

It's sort of weird to say this, since I am a review, but this is one review I expect people will disagree with me on. Don't walk into the movie with expectations explicitly based on the review, because that was completely my experience, and it was so strong that I have a hard time believing others will feel the same thing.

[Brenzi51]

It's good to see Bruce making quality movies once again...and he may have the chance to make two quality movies in a row with SIN CITY on it's way

[DieselPower]

It's sort of weird to say this, since I am a review, but this is one review I expect people will disagree with me on. Don't walk into the movie with expectations explicitly based on the review, because that was completely my experience, and it was so strong that I have a hard time believing others will feel the same thing.
Yeah, I'm glad you pointed that out. cause it almost seemed like some people will have high expectations. The review is indeed your opinion, and some peps might fade away thinking its overall. I'm sure most of them are clear with that but not everyone. ;)

[LS2002]

So what Trailer was attachted to the screening?

[Mat]

It's sort of weird to say this, since I am a review, but this is one review I expect people will disagree with me on. Don't walk into the movie with expectations explicitly based on the review, because that was completely my experience, and it was so strong that I have a hard time believing others will feel the same thing.

Nice cop-out. . .

[droidguy1119]

The experience of watching Hostage was more powerful than when I first saw Pulp Fiction. But I wouldn't say that Hostage is better, close, or comparable to that movie, and I wouldn't expect anyone else to think it either.

So by saying that one shouldn't base their hopes off of my review, I'm not saying it's secretly bad. If you asked me, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint, as I said, more than a minute of footage that had anything wrong with it. I didn't see gaping plot holes and ignore them. I didn't notice terrible performances and let them slide. I'm not lying to you when I say I think Hostage was that good. But the point at which I got wrapped up in the movie was so overwhelming it seems unreasonable to assume most, or anyone else will feel as strongly about it.

The movie still comes highly reccomended. It is a movie that I give an A+, and would expect other people to think at the very least a B+ of, and I'd still tell you it's the best movie to come to theaters so far this year. But I don't expect other people to sit speechless afterward. Unlike, say, Constantine, or Van Helsing, movies where people's opinions about regular stuff like CGI, acting, tone, setting, and plot are going to be the point at which my opinion is subjective, this time there was just something about that movie at that time that got me in a way I couldn't send readers in demanding, because that was, for all I know, just something really specific that I felt.

So yesterday, in short, I saw an intense and gripping thriller, and I had an unbelievable experience watching it. Whether or not I was just in the perfect mood for exactly what Hostage was, or if it was some subconscious thing, or if it was just random tension relieving itself for some other reason, or some other factor I'm unaware of is a big deal, because that's the experience, and not the movie. In my review, I decided to talk about both, but I'm just saying that all I would be able to hope you'd get is the intense and gripping thriller, and if you get the experience I had, then that's just icing on the cake.

[Mat]

If you got so wrapped up in it, that's great. You shouldn't have to tell other people that they might not feel the same way you do about the movie. That's common sense. If you do think that something emotional was effecting what you thought about the film at the time, you should have waited a day or so and then written the review.

Of course after I see the movie, I'm gonna post in big bold letters: DROIDGUY WAS WRONG!

:P

[krushgroove19]

just one semi-stupid question: any throats slit on screen? because i might go see this, and i have kind of a tough time with that for some reason...

[droidguy1119]

If you got so wrapped up in it, that's great. You shouldn't have to tell other people that they might not feel the same way you do about the movie. That's common sense. If you do think that something emotional was effecting what you thought about the film at the time, you should have waited a day or so and then written the review.

Of course after I see the movie, I'm gonna post in big bold letters: DROIDGUY WAS WRONG!

:P

I expect people will think it's great, but the review, which the way I wanted to talk about the movie, is about how it hit me, and in essence it's not the way I review movies. I can't hang that kind of pressure on the movie, because I'm not sure why I had such an amazing experience. It makes reviewing the movie indulgent, because nobody else will compare the movie to Pulp Fiction, but I had to do it because that is what I got out of it. I just get the feeling that while that's how much I enjoyed it, to actually think that other people will find that much of a movie in Hostage is irrational. I am trying to balance out the personal with the realistic. It was a unique moment, but I can't change what it did when I saw it yesterday and so that's just how I have to talk about it.

It's almost as if I made Hostage, and I was trying to give it an A+ because it was everything that I wanted it to be. I mean, this is one of the most memorable things I have ever experienced in a theater in my entire life. I had more powerful reaction to Hostage than Kill Bill Volume 1.

And therefore, that's something else, and I can't tell people that's what they should be prepared for.

[droidguy1119]

just one semi-stupid question: any throats slit on screen? because i might go see this, and i have kind of a tough time with that for some reason...

Odd...

No, there are no throats slit. But there's another, specific moment I can't reveal, but it's pretty intense...

[krushgroove19]

okay, thanks... that's good to hear. i can handle seeing anything except that for some weird reason. it's just a strange irrational fear i've had since i was a little kid.

[iv3rdawG]

Odd...

No, there are no throats slit. But there's another, specific moment I can't reveal, but it's pretty intense...
Since im 14 Droid, I go see R Rated movies with my mom. But do you think this is a really bad (content) R Rated movie?

[fantasticfour40]

OK, now I have pumped up my anticipation a little bit.

[droidguy1119]

Since im 14 Droid, I go see R Rated movies with my mom. But do you think this is a really bad (content) R Rated movie?

There is only one moment of particularly intense violence, and some of the subject matter, like the very beginning, is strong. Everything else is a little bit gritty and stylized, but it's just what action movies do these days.

[fantasticfour40]

So there's more stylized action to the film, huh!. We'll finally get a good action movie, according to droidguy. Something I've been waiting for a long time.

[fantasticfour40]

Droidguy, got a question for you how much difference do you think Robots and Hostage will make this weekend?

[droidguy1119]

Robots will be number one, but hopefully Hostage has enough behind it to make number 2. I don't know. I think Hostage is mostly dependent on whatever advertising Miramax is giving it in terms of volume, as long as people know about Hostage, without an actiony alternative I think they'll get a lot of 18-21 year-olds on Friday and from there it will be word of mouth.

[Jack]

Well, I'm kind of curious now. Kind of. But I've been burned by Droids raves before...well I never went based on his reviews, but they certainly helped.

In any case, I think the deciding factors will be A) lack of things to do Sunday afternoon B) What A.O. or Elvis has to say C) What my favorite CS! reviewer Mat has to say. He obviously has a bias to disprove droid in some way, but hey, I'm getting kind of sick of all the droid dick sucking that goes around here anyway. What? Somebody had to say it.


(Kidding of course, Droid)

[iv3rdawG]

C) What my favorite CS! reviewer Mat has to say
:rolleyes:

[Drizzt240]

Eh...looked like an Average C action movie to me. Doesn't look bad, just looks like I've seen the whole scenerio before.

I doubt it'll be better than Goodfellas.

[Mat]

:rolleyes:

Let's not be harsh. ;)

[neo5595]

wow great review Droid! That score was certainly unexpected. I'll probably see this instead of Robots now.

[fantasticfour40]

I'm going to go see both. In fact, already give both of these movies an A+ without seeing the movie.

[Drizzt240]

I'm going to go see both. In fact, already give both of these movies an A+ without seeing the movie.

That's pretty stupid.

[Imagination_13]

Are the action scenes anything like Assault on Precinct 13 was?

[droidguy1119]

Way better than Assault on Precinct 13. Even if I hadn't loved the movie so much, Hostage is better than Assault on every level, at least by a little.

[Oj]

Some of my old theater friends let me in to a screening of this. There are a couple slight spoilers, but I doubt they would ruin the movie.

I really had a hard time getting into this movie. Everything about it was just so contrived and over-dramatized. The highly formulaic prologue sets the stage for the rest of the film. It's a textbook beginning for action films, even resembling that of Mercury Rising (another film starring Bruce Willis).

Director Florent Siri has talent in crafting highly stylized scenes, but they reek heavily of action movie cliches, making it hard to take them seriously, though they can be somewhat enjoyable to watch. Unfortunately, even Siri's talent as a director is taken into question once the viewer realizes the stark similarities present between other films. One scene, towards the end of the movie, seems to be directly out of The Crow.

The storyline is quite absurd overall. Overused action movie ideas are abound, with some cheaply contrived mindplay thrown in on Willis' behalf. The multi-million dollar house conveniently contains a ventilation system by which the youngest character can access every room of the house. Unfortunately, though, the contractors must have forgotten to install the sprinkler system when they added the state-of-the-art security system. And the people propelling all the action, who appear only as silhouettes talking on telephones, receive nearly no backstory, fitting their roles as plot contrivances well.

Performance-wise, the film is off and on. Willis does a reasonable job most of the time, fitting the troubled cop role he's played countless times prior. Kevin Pollak is believable enough as the father of two kidnapped children. The children themselves do well enough to scream when needed, always attempting to keep the audience interested. Each of the three juvenile kidnappers in the movie do an average job of filling out the stock emotion assigned to them. The film's chief villain (the Brandon Lee look-a-like mentioned earlier) is conveniently psychopathic, helping to add to the movie's mountain of cliches.

I was pleased that the movie didn't try to pull a cheap surprise ending. But that hardly makes up for the rest of the movie.

** out of ****

[Tony Montana]

I will watch this for sure.

[fantasticfour40]

That's pretty stupid.

I was just kidding about that. I will give them the grade they deserve. I'm pretty hyped up for Robots but I didn't except Hostage would be a great film until I read droidguy's review.

[dafl]

I was just kidding about that. I will give them the grade they deserve. I'm pretty hyped up for Robots but I didn't except Hostage would be a great film until I read droidguy's review.

You can't really say a movie is great based on one review.

[FilmJerk]

I doubt it'll be better than Goodfellas.
:confused: this movie is no where near the same as Goodfellas, premise wise

[Imagination_13]

Way better than Assault on Precinct 13. Even if I hadn't loved the movie so much, Hostage is better than Assault on every level, at least by a little.

Awesome, now I'm even more hyped to see it tomorrow. :cool:

[sec127]

WOW an A+ I did not expect that, I heard from the critics that this movie was bad. My newspaper trashed it and the very reliable filmcritic.com, who are very strict gave it an 1.5 out of 5. Now with what you said I will defiently go see this movie! I love a good Bruce Willis action movie!!!

[andreas 911]

I'm terribly sorry - well no, that was a lie - i didn't enjoy this movie but what it is terribly surprising is that you gave it an A+. In my personal opinion i agree with OJ simpson up there more than droid. Jonathon Tucker was great as a young actor though, so much more talent than, well than the other young talent out nowadays. However even though the story was forcing me to think otherwise, the direction from Florent Siri was somewhat enjoyable. Even though this was no means to be a review I wouldn't give it higher than a C-, C at best

[hei1spawn1]

It was pretty good. I'd give it an 8/10. The ending was so cool. Ben Foster looked so much like Brandon Lee from the Crow in that last scene. See it.

[WuTical]

seeing this tomorrow...cant wait

[Drizzt240]

:confused: this movie is no where near the same as Goodfellas, premise wise

I know.

[Browntown Johnn]

Review: Hostage
http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php


Bruce Willis made 3 'Die Hard' flicks and they created the "Die Hard Inna" knockoffs for so many other action film stars. Why would he do a 'diehardinna'? It's redundant to make a movie like "Hostage", because it is totally unoriginal...a formula movie for Willis fans. "Hostage" falls into the 'so bad it's good' category of Willis movies (Hudson Hawk is totally watchable). It just gives up after the first half and goes into the 'what the **** is this ****', over the top, popcorn movie.

The story is familiar, an LA hostage negotiator named Jeff Talley ****s up on a case....goes into burn-out mode....moves to Ventura County to take a peaceful police job. A gang of 3 teen perps break into a rich guys house and hold him and his 2 kids hostage. Jeff is on the case but it turns out the rich guy is a mob accountant with a file disc of offshore holdings. Jeff's family is kidnapped at gunpoint by masked baddies and want the disc. That's just the first half. Here's a list of movies we have packed into this fiasco....Desperate Hours...Die Hard (with a kid)...Assault on Precinct 13 (the remake)...Panic Room (mostly)...Nick of Time (Johnny Depp film)..... and more!

Willis tries harder with his acting here, and the opening is solid. He produced this mess so it's his game, so he hired good actors (Kevin Pollak is fine as the rich guy). The French director Florent Emilio Siri has gone over the edge for overkill here. The main bad guy is Ben Foster (a great youth actor) who plays one of the silliest psychos ever on screen. Smoking pot and enjoying the thrill of the kill is right out of 'Reefer Madness". The endings(2 storylines) were so bad that I was punchy. I laughed at the "Passion of the Christ" parody (Foster doing a Goth Jesus with firebombs). So if this is what you want from Willis...here it is. Another awful and fun movie to see.

[FilmJerk]

movie was pretty good. kinda sorta reminded me of The Punisher for some reason

[iv3rdawG]

I might... go see this today, I dont know if I will have time though. I would have gone and seen it yesterday, but it wasnt at the right time.

[Tornado]

I'm probably going to be seeing this later. I may have a review up today if I'm not too tired, tomorrow at the latest.

[Ewok Droppings]

I liked this movie a lot - but there is just one thing I couldn't quite figure out during the show... why did they keep saying that Walter Smith had died? I know he was trying to keep leverage, but he could have done that with the disc?

Overall a great action flick though :)

[hei1spawn1]

use spoiler tags, not quote tags

[Ewok Droppings]

oops - massive brain fart by me - I fixed it :)

[droidguy1119]

I liked this movie a lot - but there is just one thing I couldn't quite figure out during the show... why did they keep saying that Walter Smith had died? I know he was trying to keep leverage, but he could have done that with the disc?

Overall a great action flick though :)

Pretty much just leverage. He tricked the the bad guys into thinking he had no way to get the DVD back except to go into the house by saying that Smith was dead, because there was no way he could have pulled everything off without going into the house. The upside is that he had Smith as a wild-card whenever he needed him (like at the end of the movie), because of course Smith was not dead.

[LOTRNUT04]

just saw it yesterday, really enjoyed it. 8.5/10 (worth buying)

[dustindame]

i also really enjoyed the movie, 8/10

[Tornado]

Hmm... I thought it was pretty good, but, I didn't like it as much as Droid did. I might write a full review later on.

8/10

[fantasticfour40]

I'm seeing this on Monday. I can't wait to see it.

[Imagination_13]

I loved that last shootout... Oh man, that was great. The opening credits were nice too.

[FilmJerk]

spoiler tags dude

[Imagination_13]

...I figure it's kinda obvious there's a shootout at the end, 'cause for one it's being advertised as an action movie, and two, almost all Bruce Willis movies end like that. :confused: Meh, I'll add the tags anyway.

[Doomsday]

It was alright, waaaaaaay too many loose ends that really didn't make a lot of sense. 7/10

[carnage4u]

id say movie was worth a 7/10.. fun but not amazing...

[iv3rdawG]

going to see the movie right now, I will probably have a review up maybe tomorrow, if not tomorrow then on Tuesday due to my schedule.

[iv3rdawG]

Just saw the movie, half way through the movie I was thinking to myself, "Im not really thinking that this movie is really good." But the last part of the movie was really good. And man was that Marz guy F'd up or what! I was leaning on an 8.5 but I guess I will give it a 9. I will have a review later tomorrow possibly.

[Mat]

Before I read most best-selling thrillers, I think “This will probably be silly and derivative;” while I’m reading, I think “Wow, this is really pulling me in;” and after I read it, I think “That really was silly and derivative, but I liked it well enough.” That’s exactly how I responded to ‘Hostage.’ For most of the film, I was caught up with the characters and their situation, but as it progressed towards the very noisy climaxes, my attention went outside the story to admire how good of shots some of the characters were. This is largely forgivable (what action movie doesn’t do it?) but doesn’t help raise it above expectations. No speeches about “transcending a genre” here.

A movie doesn’t really have to transcend it’s genre to be considered good, though, and ‘Hostage’ is exactly that sort of genre film. Bruce Willis is also the sort of star that would be good in that genre film and he is. He’s as reliable acting behind a weapon as the mailman is in rain, sleet, or snow. Here he brings out his brooding persona as a haunted small-town sheriff who’s called into a situation that’s eerily similar to the situation that made him give up his old job as a hostage negotiator. Three hooligans; one who’s a maniac, one with a heart of gold, and one who can’t make up his mind who he wants to be; break into the house of rich man (Kevin Pollack) and his kids for some new cars and maybe some laughs. The cops quickly arrive on the scene, and voila, you’ve got yourself your everyday hostage situation.

There is a twist to it all, but since it’s revealed in the trailers, I guess it’s okay to say. The wife and daughter of Willis’ character are kidnaped by a third party who immediately need something inside the house. These villains are, of course, very shady and exist in shadows, behind masks, and on cell phones as most shady villains do nowadays. This in turn gives Willis’ character more motivation to get into that house as quickly as possible to save the lives of his family. As I said before, everything up to this point is fine and entertaining; I think the turning point at which my interests left the story was when the “FBI” showed up.

This is the first American film by French filmmaker Florent Siri, who before this directed a Splinter Cell video game. Maybe video game directors have an advantage over most music video directors since they have to push visuals and a story in their games while music videos are mostly “set the music to a visually cool short.” Okay, some of the slow motion shots towards the end were a bit silly, but let’s not hang the guy for a few shots. He does quite a good job keeping with story moving and never getting bogged down on any aspect of the narrative. Some other aspiring action directors (ahem. . . Constantine’s Francis Lawrence) would do well to take lessons from this guy.

What Hostage really boils down to is cinematic comfort food for action-thriller fans. Being the guy who takes comfort in all genres of film, I enjoyed it. Sure it’s pretty much all been done before and you can probably even find better examples of it at your local video store, but for what it is, it’s effective. In his career, Bruce Willis has rid the world of plenty of scum. Who wouldn’t want to miss the chance of seeing him exterminate a few more in a decent film?

B-

[THEMEEK]

i heard this movie was great... to bad it isn't number 1

[espwolverine]

My god!!!! I just saw this movie and I have to say it is in my top 10 of all time favorite movies! I need to see this again. It was freakin awesome. There were some small plot holes but other then those this is the best movie of the year so far bar none!

[ProgramNeo]

I saw it Friday night. Great movie, I enjoyed it a lot. 8.5/10

[fantasticfour40]

Bruce Willis's new movie is so nerve wracking it feels like someone is trying to point a gun at you to see this movie. The film is very over the top with all these snipers, security cameras, ninja warriors, police cars, and crooks guarding a father's household. Rent "Hostage" on DVd instead of going to the theater. 5/10

[Mat]

Bruce Willis's new movie is so nerve wracking it feels like someone is trying to point a gun at you to see this movie. The film is very over the top with all these snipers, security cameras, ninja warriors, police cars, and crooks guarding a father's household. Rent "Hostage" on DVd instead of going to the theater. 5/10

I don't remember the ninja warriors. :funny:

[Jack]

Damnit, I'd totally see it if it had a ninja warrior twist.

[FilmJerk]

well they sorta did look like ninja warriors :funny:

[ruban]

The movie was just as I expected.
I like these types of movies. I like Bruce Willis. It's a good start.
Thankfully I wasn't let down.
8.5/10

[Dio]

All the terror movies are starting to be the same. This movie reminds me of Saw because of the whole taking family thing which is really getting old. But hey it's my opinion so you never know....

[ruban]

I was able to get passed the acting in this one :)

[FilmJerk]

why wasnt there a CS review? I enjoy reading them

[Tarkin]

if the rest of the movie was as badass as the ending it would get a 10/10. but it wasn't so 7/10

[obsessedwithsnl]

At first i thought Droid's review was a joke, because my local paper gave it zero stars. But now I might have to think about seeing this.

[Glordreen]

I trusted in droids review and went and saw this tonight. And I wasnt let down. This film is surprisingly good. Just a few hairs short of a 9.

8.5/10

Check my site for the full review tomorrow.

[Glordreen]

if the rest of the movie was as badass as the ending it would get a 10/10.

Completely agree. The ending was so awseome!!!!!!!

[espwolverine]

Saw it again last night...still freakin sweet 9/10

[FVD]

I just watched the trailer. This looks like a movie worth watching. Nice review Droid.

[Glordreen]

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/miramax_films/hostage/bruce_willis/hostage1.jpg

Hostage
A Review by Glordreen


For theearnesttowell.tripod.com

Currently as I write this it is March 22nd. And even though it is early I have declared Hostage the Best Sleeper of the year. If you dont know what that means, listen here. A sleeper is a film that I did not think was going to be particularly good, but I saw it by chance and good word of mouth from reviews around the net (particualrly at comingsoon.net forums). So I went in to Hostage not expecting anything spectacular, but something at least to entertain my addiction for movies. Did I get what I ecpected? No! I got more!

Hostage is the Best Action thriller in my recent memory. Its got explosions, gun fights, suspense, brilliant acting, and a storyline that twists more than once. It has everything that makes a great popcorn flick.

The Beginning and Ending of the film is masterpiece filmmaking. Complete and sheer awesomeness!! If the film were as good as the beginning and end it would have very easily recied a 10/10. And by my ranking terms a 10 is a masterpiece. I am not saying that the middle of the film is bad, oh hell no. The thick and thin of the movie is very good and contains some great scenes, all I am saying is the the beginning and end are the best parts of the movie.

Bruce Willis is a full throtle badass in this movie. If there is not an ass to kick in the situation he verbally attacks them with negotiator expertise, and it still feels like he kicked ass. Acting wise he was phenomenal, probably one the best roles I have seen him in, and maybe his best performance since The Sixth Sense.

Overall Hostage is a solid Action film. Definatley worth the price of admission. Once again dont let the critics steer you away from the greatness of this movie. I almost let them do that, but managed to see it anyway, and am so full of joy that I did. Go see it, you wont regret it!

Good Points
-Beginning and Ending are masterpieces
-Bruce Willis = Badass
-Two plots intervined for a great story

Bad Points
-Had the potential to be better

Rating- 9/10

[smokingelf]

Just saw hostage and I must say not bad. It wasn't great but it was a decent flick.

[Vision works]

it was an OK movie .. I mean when you see it you will know that the story

somehow been showed before .. it's trying to be another panic room movie ..

with the steel door ..

the thing i hated the most is Bruce willis reaction !

like in the end he cries like some one died !!

way over reacted


5/10

[Fanible]

Just watched this for the first time. Very underrated, and very suprised at how many critics disliked it. I thought it was very tense and pumped. 8/10 easily. I also loved the acting in it, one of the main points I found. Ben Foster... yikes! Never saw that coming.

[sparrow]

I'm sorry but in Italy the American's film exit much late and this film is much beautiful.I will must to wait so much

[LOTRNUT04]

^wait, wait, wait....WHAT???

[Fanible]

My interpretation was that it hasn't come out in Italy yet, that it looks great, and he wants to see it. =P