Friday, June 24, 2016

The Negotiator (1998)

Director: F. Gary Gray

Writers: James DeMonaco, Kevin Fox

Composer: Graeme Revell

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, J.T. Walsh, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Paul Giamatti, Regina Taylor, Bruce Beatty, Michael Cudlitz, Carlos Gomez, Tim Kelleher, Dean Norris

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  Chicago's two top negotiators must face each other. One of them is holding hostages. The other is demanding surrender. And everyone's holding their breath.

Plot: In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.



My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe, but I think twice is the magic number.

It's been ages since I saw this last and it wasn't as good this time but not by much.  It's a good crime thriller with a great cast doing a fine job, the tension is nicely handled and the pacing is good but it gets better and faster once the shit hits the taking hostages fan.  There are some clever little turns in the script but you might just fell them coming just before you turn the bend if you're thinking like Danny (Jackson).  The only real issue I have with the picture is that the story asks a little too much of your suspension of disbelief.  The last half hour (which feels like it lasts longer) has Danny & co. doing some far fetched things that you know there's no way these things would happen in real life.  I can take that to a point and this picture goes past that a couple of blocks.  It's still a fun film with a great cast doing a great job.  The Warner Bros. DVD gives you a nice anamorphic widescreen print with the only extras being trailers for four films (2 each with Jackson and Spacey).

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