Customer Reviews
Pretty good - By: one-eyed Jack, 09 Sep 2008 
Bruce Willis is always in danger of being a parody of himself, most often typecast as the maverick save-the-world cop a-la-Die Hard, but in fact he has tried to explore other character portrayals in recent years. Yes, he's a cop again in this one, but he never looked as if he was about to do any yippee-kai-yays at any time. Thanks mainly to a solid writing base from a Robert Crais novel of the same name, Hostage is a pretty good thriller & not as formulaic as many might expect. The odd thing though is that there were a few signature images that reminded me of other seemingly unrelated films, notably The Crow - one of the hostage takers, a psycho named Mars & played by Ben Foster, looked bizarrely like Brandon Lee's portrayal of Eric Draven a decade earlier.
Bruce Willis' real-life daughter plays his fictional daughter in the film who along with his wife is also kidnapped in an unusual twist on the standard hostage fare, so that the under-pressure negotiator Jeff Tallley not only has to get a man & his two children safely out of his home that has been taken seige by three would-be car-jackers, but at the same time he has to try & save his own family who have been abducted as a direct result of his involvement. Never conventional or predictable, this is actuallly worth watching even if you think you've seen it alll before.
What a house! - By: Garry Williams, 29 Feb 2008 I was loathe to rent this, as Im not a fan of Bruce Willis, & the genre of his usual film. But I was pleasantly surprised as to how the film opened out around the backdrop of a fantastic house. The story starts as Bruce is a chilled out hostage negotiator back in the day, & it alll goes wrong. Fast forward & he is now the chief of a smalll police station & wanting an easier life, with a house move, a wife & stroppy daughter in tow. Then we come to see the house of the rich Dad, son & daughter & how the break-in by some teenagers looking for fun subsequently turns into something bigger than they anticipated. The father of the house has a data DVD that some bigshots want, but access is delayed because the house is then taken hostage by the overexcited punks, one of which does a very good job at looking like a psycho. Bruce reallly doesnt want to get involved, but inevitably he does. Support roles were good, & the hostage takers become more desperate as the film progresses. Its a little tense, but I had no empathy or interest in the characters. The son was enterprising, & likeable, so I rooted for him to escape. Bruce does his thing as a hero, then pushes for an implausible treatment to be performed in the ambulance to try & save the day, & his skin. (sorry but I cant stand it when they do pretend medical stuff in films). Wont spoil the plot, as there are a few surprises to keep you waiting for the outcome. It isnt completely obvious what will happen, & its quite stylish in the delivery of the details. Sounds vague but cant go into specifics without spoiling it. For me it was a gripping film because of the house itself, it added depth & increased the tension. Also added interest to what could otherwise have been an average & samey film.
Bruce Willis worst film by a long way - By: Baribus, 21 Feb 2008 
How this film has acquired so many stars from reviewers is beyond me. Have you alll gone mad? The plot & script are awful, the actors who play the hostage takers are awful & there is a distinct lack of relationship or even any sincerity between them & Willis throughout the film. As the amazon reviewer rightly said there are implausible plot twists, couple this with very bad acting & directing & you have nothing but a complete waste of time. Willis' heart was clearly not in this as he must have realised that this IS a very very poor film.
The Plot Escapes before the End - By: Mark Baker, 06 Feb 2008 
Jeff Tallley (Bruce Willis) is a top hostage negotiator in Los Angeles. But when one case ends badly, Jeff retires from the business. A year later, he's the Sheriff in a smalll Southern California town where nothing ever happens.
Unfortunately, that's about to change. When three criminals attempt to steal a car, they wind up taking three hostages instead. Unfortunately, Walter Smith (Kevin Pollak), one of the hostages, has something to hide as well. Jeff is ready to turn the case over to someone else when his wife & daughter are kidnapped. Now he has to keep his family alive without compromising the hostages in the house. Can he do it?
This movie is based on a best selling novel. While I have never read it, I have enjoyed other books by the author. I've heard his fans are disappointed with this adaptation, & I can understand why. It starts well, with an interesting premise that reallly drew me in. However, the longer the movie went on, the more preposterous it became. And the ending was much weaker then I wanted it to be.
This movie is rated R. I caught it on TV, so I know parts were cut out. In fact, it was laughable when the language was removed. I don't know if any violence hit the cutting room floor, but there was still plenty of it here. It did get pretty dark & gruesome near the end. I was expecting this going in, so it didn't bother me. I'm just pointing out it was there.
The movie started out strong, but the ending lets it down big time. It's disappointing that an interesting premise lost such momentum.
Possibly the best thriller film ive ever seen!! - By: D. Agar, 03 Dec 2007 
two words why this film is so good - bruce willis abslutely amazing almost as good as he was in die hard?!so if you are wondering what to spend your money on buy this edge of your seat classic
