Hostage

The opening credit sequence for “Hostage” is shot in a comic-book style. Compositionally, this sequence consists of solid blacks and a deep red sky, along with an oblique perspective. After seeing the opening credits, you get a sense that you will soon be taken to the world of a lone ranger. The cityscape bears a deadly silence that is indicative of crimes and dangers brewing in city’s dark places. The credits end, and we are immediately taken to the center of a nail-biting scene. We meet a SWAT negotiator, Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis), scratching his beard and lying in a relaxed mood. But he is in the middle of negotiating a deal with a man who has taken his wife and a son as hostages. Bruce Willis’s character, getting trapped in a hostage crisis, is something he reprised in “Sin City” (2005), movie released almost two weeks following the release of “Hostage.” In essence, in both the films the hero’s life changes with his first failed negotiation.

As the opening action sequence ends, Talley is emotionally distraught by the sight of the bloodbath and at seeing a dead boy in his arms. He decides to step down from his current job, and he now works as a Sherriff in a small, serene town. Out of the blue two brothers, Denis (Jonathan Tucker) and Kevin (Marshall Allman), break into the house of a rich guy, Walter Smith (Kevin Pollak), and when their attempt to rob Walter misfires, Denis and Kevin take Walter’s family as captives. Talley gets pulled in the action to save Walter’s family. Soon after, Talley learns that a syndicate had kidnapped his family, too.  Talley juggles both the hostage situations and finds himself overwhelmed by the crisis.

The hero comes straight out of a comic book. He is the savior, and others look upon him as the saving soul.  He operates in an unconventional manner that is deemed risky at times and far too relaxed on some occasions. Still, Talley is successful, in spite of his unique modus operandi. Nonetheless, his failed negotiation early on has made him a better cop in responding to a crisis. Pushed into another hostage situation, Talley fully understands the ramifications of his actions; he is defensive and evaluates his options at hand thoroughly. But within, he is still mourning the loss of a kid that he could have easily saved. He wants give his best shot this time around. The motivation to save the lives keeps Talley completely focused in the hostage crisis. Bruce Willis is good in this role, something he has mastered in the “Die Hard” series and his later movies. Willis effortlessly projects the image of a cop who possesses wisdom, but at the same time his character is charming and sharp, too. It’s too bad Willis is the only reason to see this movie because the other actors are merely serviceable.

Shot in dimly lit conditions, the movie’s visual style resembles a noir film comprised of splendid cinematography. What’s more, the plot involves bad guys with secrets, bad guys involved in bad dealings. I might be giving too much credit here, but Willis reminded me of Robert Mitchum. In spite of a few positive qualities, “Hostage” is a film one cannot take seriously. As John Puccio mentioned in his review of the earlier DVD release: “‘Hostage’ is an absolutely improbable, incredibly impossible, totally absurd action thriller with no pretense whatsoever of irony or humor.”  I completely agree with John.  Indeed, “Hostage” is an exercise in absurdity that is riddled with plot holes.

First of all, within the main plot, there are two hostage situations, and the one involving Walter feels as if the director, Florent Siri, borrowed an idea from Michel Haneke’s “Funny Games” (1997). Marshall, played by Ben Foster, is psychotic and only understands violence and guns. The other two perpetrators are fools, and their actions lack common sense, as they don’t have any fallback plan. In addition, the script leaves these characters underdeveloped. The second crisis situation directly involves Talley’s family, and it is forcibly inserted into the plot. We are supposed to be shocked about learning Walter’s secret, but unfortunately, we are not. Nonetheless, it becomes a distracting element in the story. Above all, we have Talley’s family problems that go nowhere. In the end, “Hostage” has multiple subplots that don’t gel well, and the film only works mildly due to the presence of Bruce Willis.

Video:

Lionsgate releases “Hostage” in its original aspect ratio, 2.35:1, encoded using an MPEG-4/AVC codec. The film is shot on 35mm, and the 1080p transfer retains the natural grain, making this a film-like experience. The grain is present more in the nighttime sequences, but never distracting. The movie is mostly shot at night, and the transfer stays crisp and clear throughout. The print is devoid of any defects such as print damage, dirt, or specks. The nighttime scenes carry enough detail; the blacks are solid, and the contrast perfectly balanced. Still, on a few occasions, the scenes have some possibly inherent softness. The film’s palette lacks vibrant colors, and we mostly see subdued colors that provide a gritty feel to action sequences. The close-ups are good looking, and the flesh tones are lifelike. Overall, the 1080p transfer is crisp-looking, easily beating the video quality of the old DVD.

Audio:

The lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track performs well. The dialogue is mostly presented by the center channel, and it stays consistently audible. However, on several occasions I had to turn up the volume to clear the dialogue. The rear channels are activated with the arrival of helicopters, and there are ambient atmospheric noises around the house. The action sequences are punchy, with rumbling bass and thundering gunshots.

Extras:

First, we get an audio commentary track with director Florent Siri. He talks about the plot, how the book was adapted for the screen, and the character played by Bruce Willis. Up next, ”Taking Hostage” is a regular making-of featurette in which we see the crew and actors discuss their thoughts about the movie, characters, and script.  Following this, we get a set of six deleted scenes, followed by three extended scenes, with director Siri providing commentary.

Parting Thoughts:

“Hostage” is a mindless, absurd movie that has a few brief, entertaining sequences. However, the film fails to live up to its promise of an opening sequence. As expected, Bruce Willis performs well as an emotionally ailing cop. This Blu-ray edition features a crisp-looking 1080p transfer, along with an absorbing audio track. Fans of Bruce Willis will be glad to see “Hostage” on Blu-ray.