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| 3/18/2005 |
| Hostage: The Return of Bruno |
A Movie Review
by Wes Bennett
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I’d like to proclaim that my long awaited return to writing movie reviews for DrMovieMovie.com is a rousing triumph on many levels, something Robert Evans would refer to as “a monumental achievement of wonder.” But it’s probably just mediocre.
The truth is I might be a little rusty, a little less sharp and focused than the relentless reviewer who used to churn out two and sometimes even three reviews in a single week. Yes, times have changed, but I remain optimistic that in a few short weeks I will have recaptured the eye of the tiger as they say. (They being the 80s rock band “Survivor.”) And so here is my first real review since “Friday Night Lights” back in October of 2004.
With an average grade of a “C” and the New York Times calling it, “a pile of blood-soaked toxic waste dumped onto the screen,” most people probably weren’t expecting “Hostage” to beat out whatever film Martin Scorsese directed, at the 2006 Academy Awards. But compared to the other pieces of cinematic fecal matter that are out right now like “Be Cool”, “Constantine” and (I shudder), “The Passion of the Christ Recut,” this is probably your best option, (especially with the negative reviews that “The Ring II” is receiving).
Yet another reason to check out the film, is that leading man Bruce Willis is one of the last action heroes who is still hanging in there. Van Damme, Segal, Stallone, Arnold, Dolph Lundgren even, are all out of the mainstream. The Rock is playing a gay bodyguard and what happened to Vin Diesel is too painful to talk about. It’s a sad time.
That being said, “Hostage” is without question Bruce Willis’ best film since 2003’s “Tears of the Sun.” I guess that doesn’t count for very much. His largest role since “Tears” was “The Whole Ten Yards,” which would probably rank as one of that year’s worst films. Did I see it? No, but sometimes you can just tell. At least Willis has the high profile “Sin City” coming up.
Our man Willis plays Jeff Talley, the top hostage negotiator in Los Angeles, who is on the verge of cracking in the movie's opening sequence. A year after an extremely traumatic experience, Talley, is now the chief of police in a small, quiet California town.
Trouble arises when a cartoonish trio of redneck, teenage psychopaths follow an SUV home to the mountaintop estate of a man named Smith (Kevin Pollak). After an attempted car-jacking goes wrong and a policewoman is shot, the situation turns into a hostage standoff, which Chief Talley is forced to take control of when shadowy mobsters kidnap Talley’s own family in order to make sure he gets them an incriminating DVD stashed somewhere on the premises of the Smith estate.
Willis is comfortable in a role that's not too far removed from his parts in many other action movies: The Bruce Willis part. But to be fair, the character of Jeff Talley is nothing like that of John McClane. He isn't a wisecracking guy stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time, he's a tortured individual looking for redemption.
Willis is able to project more intensity with less overacting than most of his rivals, which brings credibility to the movie. In fact I’m not sure what other actor could have played the role better.
One thing the movie does have going for it, is one of the best opening sequences in a relatively weak film, since last summer’s “S.W.A.T.”
On the down side, critics will inevitably take stabs at the movie, nit-picking at the variety of small problems: including the lack of time devoted to the gangsters who kidnap Talley’s family,
the degree to which Talley’s family is completely unlikable and the sheer absurdity of the three punks who kidnap the Smith family.
While most of these points are valid, the film is never boring. “Hostage” moves quickly enough to easily provide nearly two hours of entertainment that can easily be enjoyed between NCAA basketball action and Stallone’s “The Contender.”
P.S. Has anyone seen the Darius Rucker/ Burger King ad? Is not one of the saddest things ever?
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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