Susan Granger’s review of “Hostage” (Miramax Films)
It’s often quite revealing when a star produces his own vanity vehicle – the way Kevin Spacey did with “Beyond the Sea” and Tim Robbins’ did with “Dead Man Walking.” But with this hostage negotiator thriller, Willis seems to have simply rehashed several “Die Hard” elements. Jeff Talley (that’s Willis) was a top hostage negotiator in Los Angeles until he botched an assignment, resulting in the death of two innocent people. Guilt-ridden, he quits and becomes top cop in the sleepy suburban community of Bristo Camino. But he soon becomes embroiled in chaos when drugged-out carjackers steal a shiny SUV, kidnap the driver, Walter Smith (Kevin Pollak), a crooked corporate accountant, and take his children hostage in their fortress-like mountain mansion. Meanwhile, Jeff’s wife (Serena Scott Thomas) and daughter (Willis’ real-life daughter Rumer) are also held hostage by the accountant’s shady associates until Jeff can retrieve a DVD with off-shore banking data from the accountant’s besieged home. That’s the basic plot that gets botched, igniting a barrage of bullets, the din of explosives and a mounting body count. French director Florent Siri and “Die Hard” writer Doug Richardson, adapting Robert Crias’ book, offer Willis little character range as he recites the all-too-familiar, generic dialogue and flashes his signature smirk. Just how often can he play the reluctant hero, the renegade cop who’s forced to come to the rescue – alone? And one aspect of this blood-soaked melodrama that I found completely reprehensible was when a family pet was eliminated as part of a killing rampage. C’mon! On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Hostage” holds the audience prisoner with an implausible, frenzied 3. Buff Bruce really bungles this time ’round.
