Hostage (2005)

Plot of Hostage: Jeff Talley is a former police negotiator whose poor decision shave resulted in the deaths of two hostages and the hostage taker, and so has retreated to become the police chief of a small town in the boondocks. In his new role he has a difficult relationship with his wife and daughter. Meanwhile a trio of youthful villains storm a house occupied by a criminal accountant and his two children, and when a police woman approaches the gate she is killed by Mars, the worst of the three. Talley is called to the scene but quickly leaves the job to the county sheriff’s department. The dynamic changes when a mysterious masked man reveals that he has captured Talley’s wife and daughter and that it is up to him to recover a DVD of great importance from the house before law enforcement get in there, in order to save their lives. In the house Smith, the accountant, has been knocked unconscious, his daughter has been tied up and his young son has escaped into the network of ventilation shafts and has contacted Talley. He manages to negotiate the release of Smith, who he holds in an ambulance while a fake FBI group arrive to take over. Can Talley overcome the collective villains to save Smith’s family and his own?

A View: No sex or nudity, although Smith’s daughter, Jennifer, dresses a bit provocatively which seems to hit the spot for the most villainous young villain. He, Mars, also smokes weed quite bit. Was there any alcohol? Maybe a bit. We are introduced to Talley as he is trying to persuade a mad husband from killing his wife and son, unsuccessfully. Later as police chief he is called out to Smith’s desert mansion, where he is unsuccessful in saving the life of his deputy. The young men ramble about in the mansion, finding money and fancying Jennifer. Talley makes progress using his negotiating skills, but Mars is a psychopath who we see, in time killing both his fellow hostage takers. The unknown masked group threaten Talley, showing him his the bound and gagged  wife and daughter. After rescuing Smith, Talley tells the young villains that he is dead to exert leverage. Later the masked men arrive at the mansion in a fake FBI armoured vehicle, and they and Talley get into the house.

A View: This film was not much liked by the critics and probably did not make any money, the box office only just covering the production cost. But it rolls along. There was a moment when I though that the young villain with a handgun was shooting more accurately than was likely as he took on the surrounding police, but it was a minor point. In summary, not one of Bruce Willis’s best movies but nevertheless a watch for nothing while doing your knitting.

Fun Fact: I really liked the accountant’s mansion  which is apparently real, built on the edge of a canyon close to Los Angeles.