The Home of Steven Barnes
Author, Teacher, Screenwriter


Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Hostage (2005)

I'd heard that Hostage was a loser, and was pleasantly surprised. ThisBruce Willis vehicle (actually, its kind of an anti-Bruce Willis vehicle, which means it's like a Bruce Willis movie, only married to your uncle. Sorry) deals with a police negotiator who flees to the hinterlands with his family after a catastrophic failure. There in the canyons of Ventura County, he encounters a nightmare scenario--a family held hostage by crazed whackos. Complicating the situation is the fact that the father of the family has files needed by the Mob, which kidnaps Willis' family to keep him in line...oh, you know the drill. Tense, bloody, mean, and ultimately satisfying in a cheap-thrills kind of way, I'll give this one a B- for most folks, and a B for those of us who like it a little wet.

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