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Screenplay written by Doug Richardson; directed by Florent Siri; starring Bruce Willis. Released to DVD on June 26, 2005.  Bruce Willis’s best roles have usually been the quirky, slightly understated, subtle kind. For every action hero he’s played, he’s also shown that he’s an actor who can hold his own in creative, off-kilter films like Pulp Fiction and Twelve Monkeys. His goofy, crazy character David in the TV series Moonlighting was based on himself when he was younger.
When he announced in 2001 that he wouldn’t do either “save the world” or violent action movies anymore, I rejoiced. With a 20-year career and one-third of his roles being from action films, it was exciting to think of him moving onto better and greater roles. And then Hostage came out.
Forget the speech that Willis won’t do anymore action films, Hostage is Armageddon, Mercury Rising, and Hart’s War all rolled into one. Willis is the head negotiator, Jeff Talley. His attempt at negotiating with a man holding a woman and her child fails, and he ends up feeling responsible for the death of all three. The death of the child, a young boy, devastates him, and he leaves his position to work as a cop in a small town. His wife and daughter, played by real-life daughter Rumer, apparently hate him for moving. Talley is happy with his new “low-crime” town, figuring he’ll never have to deal with the kind of situation he left in LA while living in this quiet suburbia. Obviously, a new kidnapping for Talley to negotiate, thereby redeeming himself, is right around the corner.
Hostage doesn’t have any of the humor that made his other action movie, Die Hard, so great. Director Florent Siri, better known for the Splinter Cell video games than movies, instead tries to keep his movie exciting by jamming as much into it as possible. 
There are three kidnappings that take place in this film, with the obvious logic that the more going on at one time, the more entertaining it will be. Unfortunately the third kidnapping, of Talley’s family, is difficult to get upset about. Siri gives me no reason to care about Talley’s wife, a sad woman pondering divorce, and his daughter, who simply stomps around angrily and slams a door.
Hostage takes itself way too seriously: another downfall of the film. Willis’s Talley barely even cracks a smile the entire movie. The tone is somber, dark, depressed. On several occasions, Willis cries and sobs. Even parts that are amusing are treated as intense situations. One of the kidnappers has this strange habit of tilting his head to the side every time he seems to be staring at someone he’d like to kill or torture. I found this peculiarity giggle-worthy, at the least, but the film treats it as a serious characteristic of our deranged killer.
What this film does have going for it is the special effects and visuals. The house that the family is kidnapped in is amazing, built on a cliff side with a waterfall coming down outside one of the walls. A scene in the film in which the house is set on fire is given special attention to detail, and ups the horror factor with one of the kidnappers flailing, burning on the floor with his arms outstretched like Jesus Christ. The film constantly keeps the action going, trying to keep the audience’s attention. Willis also does his best at expressing the sadness and anguish the scenes require, making them slightly more plausible than if he hadn’t been there. This movie may have been successful with a little humor, and if the plot had been given as much care as the effects and violence.
Jen Mashuga yes, it's true: Look carefully for a cameo by Bruce Willis daughter, Rumer Willis. |
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