Movie Review

Hostage

"Hostage" isn't necessarily a bad film ? it?s just not a very ambitious one. Directed by first timer Florent Emilio Siri, and written by Doug Richardson (?Die Hard 2? and ?Bad Boys?), this film takes a lot from "Die Hard," but won?t make you forget that film anytime soon. The Bruce Willis classic had comedy, character development, and some of the best written dialogue between characters in any movie, action or otherwise. "Hostage," on the other hand, is a standard by-the-book film that only breaks out of its shell on certain occasions thanks to Siri's taut direction.

The film stars Bruce Willis as Jeff Talley, the head of the local police department in a small town in California. His daughter hates him, he has an on-again-off-again relationship with his wife, and is haunted by disturbing events from his past as a hostage negotiator. Kevin Pollack plays Walter Smith, a rich DVD bootlegger living in the same town with his daughter, Jennifer (Michelle Horn), and his son, Tommy (Jimmy Bennett). The lives of these two men are about to intertwine, as three punks enter Smith's highly secure mountaintop home looking to steal a car. They are two brothers, Dennis (Jonathan Tucker) and Kevin (Marshall Allman), and their friend Mars (Ben Foster). Only things get out of hand and a cop is killed, leading to a standoff between police and the three young men inside.

Talley is at first convinced that he can't do anything and so he hands it over to the county cops. Another element is thrown in, though, when shady business partners of Smiths end up taking Talley's wife and child hostage. They want a special DVD that is inside the house, and if Talley can't get it, his wife and daughter are both dead. Talley is also contacted by Tommy, who has managed to squeeze free and hide in the exterior shaft tunnels of the house. Both events bring Talley back into the limelight, as he returns to negotiating to secure the lives of everyone involved.

The plotting of "Hostage" is silly, but the film is very good at piling thrill upon thrill, and director Siri does his best with turning up the suspense as high as it can go. The shouting matches between characters, a few quality jolts generated from the bad guys, and an over the top fire and bullet-filled finale are enough to keep "Hostage" from becoming just another boring action movie. But within all this high-caliber danger, the film never lets us sympathize with these characters. Talley's struggles with his past and his family's capture are nothing more than manufactured plot devices. There is a lot of obligatory screaming and crying, but nothing that really feels all that substantial.

Bruce Willis tries hard to sell the material, but the only help he can give it is to supply a presence; he is much better than this and he knows it. There is a standout here, though, and his name is Ben Foster. Foster turns in a sociopathic performance so good that it may give you goose bumps. He makes Mars one of the scariest and most sadistic villains to hit the screen in quite some time. "Hostage" has its merits, and will definitely satisfy undemanding action fans looking for blood, bullets, and thrills. But if you require a little more, I suggest waiting for it to hit the video shelves.

Craig's Grade: C+

A	10.9%
B	41.8%
C	31.8%
D	15.3%
F	0.3%