Jeff Talley, who we first meet at a hostage situation in a poor section of L.A., is in charge of negotiating with the man that is holding a woman and a young boy. Talley can't prevent the set of events that happens when the trigger man goes berserk and doesn't want to hear what Talley has to tell him.
Fast forward to a year after that incident and we see Talley again. By now he has shaved his hair and beard and by the magic of the movies he is transformed in Bruce Willis, a favorite action hero of many films of this genre. As Talley, he is now working in a small suburban town where soon will be the center of the TV news on all the news channels.
Dennis and Kevin, who are brothers, and their friend Mars, like the car that Walter Smith is driving. They follow the car to a remote house that has the looks of a fortress. Walter and his children, the teen ager Jennifer, and the small boy Tommy, are getting ready to order something to eat at home. Little do they know the trio of bandits have decided to invade their home and take the car and whatever they can.
When everything goes bad, Jeff Talley, as the chief of police of that locale, comes to the house and realizes what's going on. To make matters worse, Walter Smith is a criminal accountant that is fronting some bad criminals. Smith possesses the key to their ill gotten fortune and in order to ensure he will deliver, the higher ups decide to kidnap Talley's wife and daughter to make him do whatever they dictate in order to assure their money is safe.
Back at the house, the trio of young criminals, make the blunder of almost killing Walter Smith, as everything unravels because the situation goes beyond their control. Mars, who is the cruelest one of the three, takes matters into his own to create havoc, but Talley is able to deal with them and his family captors, as we expected him to do.
Bruce Willis' role as Talley has been humanized. He is not the hero that shows no feeling in his pursuit of justice. When his family becomes part of the equation, he realizes he is cornered and must act accordingly. Mr. Willis' contribution to the film, although a bit over the top (but then again, it wouldn't be a good action film otherwise), is effective in bringing all the elements together. Ben Foster plays the mercurial Mars, the vilest of the three youths that break into the Smith household. His performance goes from being a cool killer to a desperate man who will do anything to destroy before letting him be taken away.
As an action film, and as directed by Florent Siri, "Hostage" is a good entertainment that will not disappoint. The novel by Robert Crais was adapted by Doug Richardson and produces a film that is entertaining and while it doesn't break new ground, it's recommended for fans of this type of movies.
Fast forward to a year after that incident and we see Talley again. By now he has shaved his hair and beard and by the magic of the movies he is transformed in Bruce Willis, a favorite action hero of many films of this genre. As Talley, he is now working in a small suburban town where soon will be the center of the TV news on all the news channels.
Dennis and Kevin, who are brothers, and their friend Mars, like the car that Walter Smith is driving. They follow the car to a remote house that has the looks of a fortress. Walter and his children, the teen ager Jennifer, and the small boy Tommy, are getting ready to order something to eat at home. Little do they know the trio of bandits have decided to invade their home and take the car and whatever they can.
When everything goes bad, Jeff Talley, as the chief of police of that locale, comes to the house and realizes what's going on. To make matters worse, Walter Smith is a criminal accountant that is fronting some bad criminals. Smith possesses the key to their ill gotten fortune and in order to ensure he will deliver, the higher ups decide to kidnap Talley's wife and daughter to make him do whatever they dictate in order to assure their money is safe.
Back at the house, the trio of young criminals, make the blunder of almost killing Walter Smith, as everything unravels because the situation goes beyond their control. Mars, who is the cruelest one of the three, takes matters into his own to create havoc, but Talley is able to deal with them and his family captors, as we expected him to do.
Bruce Willis' role as Talley has been humanized. He is not the hero that shows no feeling in his pursuit of justice. When his family becomes part of the equation, he realizes he is cornered and must act accordingly. Mr. Willis' contribution to the film, although a bit over the top (but then again, it wouldn't be a good action film otherwise), is effective in bringing all the elements together. Ben Foster plays the mercurial Mars, the vilest of the three youths that break into the Smith household. His performance goes from being a cool killer to a desperate man who will do anything to destroy before letting him be taken away.
As an action film, and as directed by Florent Siri, "Hostage" is a good entertainment that will not disappoint. The novel by Robert Crais was adapted by Doug Richardson and produces a film that is entertaining and while it doesn't break new ground, it's recommended for fans of this type of movies.