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by KEES BOER	Next Film

Hostage is one of the most intense films I have ever seen in the theater, yet I would not classify it as a good family film.

Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) is a hostage negotiator for the Los Angeles Police Department. The film starts in the midst of a hostage negotiation that goes bad. Talley makes a misjudgment resulting in the death of a young boy and his mother. Devastated by the event, he takes on a job in a nearby small town of Bristo Camino as chief of police. What he doesn’t realize is that he will be challenged to the utmost in his hostage negotiation skills.

Three juvenile delinquent teenagers steal a car from a multi-million dollar home in the outskirts of Bristo Camino. When they become trapped in the home, they take the Smith family hostage. A twist to the situation develops because Walter Smith is an accountant for a powerful mafia organization and he has a DVD in his possession. Because of the hostage situation, the crime bosses want the DVD out of the house. In typical film mafia fashion, the criminals go after Jeff Talley’s family and blackmail Jeff into working for them to get the DVD back to them.

Jeff’s negotiating skills are tested to limit as he deals with not only the apparent hostage situation, but also the danger to his own family, which he isn’t allowed to reveal. Would Jeff sacrifice his own family to save another family?

Hostage is an intense film that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. But due to extreme graphic violence to adults as well as children, I can’t fully recommend this film —especially to families. It also contains a significant amount of profanity, drug use and some minor sexual content.

Hostage does bring up an important point. When you take a look at the delinquent teenagers, one of them is not interested in a life of crime, but he gets sucked into the situation. It shows the importance of choosing one’s friends carefully. Bad company does corrupt good morals, and this film is a great illustration of that truth.

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* Graphic Copyright Buena Vista 2005 All Rights Reserved. Story ©Alachua County Today. All Rights Reserved.

Caption Photograph: Bruce Willis as Jeff Talley and Rumer Willis as Amanda Talley. HOSTAGE is available to own on DVD and Video June 21, 2005.