Hostage is a 2005 movie starring Bruce Willis as a former hostage negotiator who becomes a sheriff of a small town after a failed negotiation throws his life into a tailspin. The movie is based on the book by Robert Crais and was adapted by Doug Richardson for the screen.
The Plot
A small town sheriff gets caught up in a hostage situation when a burglary goes wrong. During the stand-off, Sheriff Talley discovers his family has been taken hostage by an outside group. If Talley doesn’t get a DVD from the house, his family will be killed. The owner of the house is responsible for laundering money for a mysterious militia and his work is hidden on the DVD. Sheriff Talley now has a choice, save his own family or a family he has never met.
Thoughts on the Story
The movie is based on the book Hostage by Robert Crais. For me, the movie lacked the tension that would have been in a thriller book. I haven’t read the book but I believe that the story is very different from research that I have done. At times, the story is tense but other times it can leave you scratching your head. If the movie had been longer, a lot more could have been explained better.
Fin
Hostage is a good movie if you are a fan of action movies and Bruce Willis shows why he is still King of the genre. Ben Foster plays the part of Mars brilliantly with his creepy stares and epic calmness in the middle of the chaos. For these two actors alone it is worth the sometimes bumpy storyline. This is a very violent movie that is best watched when the kids are in bed so you can stuff your face with popcorn in peace.