Bruce Willis is back in action again in Miramax Film’s “Hostage.” Willis stars as Jeff Talley, a former member of an elite S.W.A.T team who moves to a small California town after a hostage situation goes horribly, horribly awry. He wants to get away from the violent nature of hostage negotiations and instead of retiring from law enforcement altogether, he instead opts to get a job as the Chief of Police is said small California town. But as we all know, escaping violence isn’t all that easy anymore and he soon finds himself right smack dab in the middle of another hostage crisis, one that eventually comes to threaten his own family. “Hostage” isn’t your typical Bruce Willis action flick. Instead of the wise-cracking detectives we’ve come to know and love, here he is all serious. It’s a nice departure seeing him wear a hat he’s worn a hundred times, yet brings a fresh perspective to. The only problem is that as far as the film goes, Willis is really the only thing that keeps it going.

Part of the problem the film has, is that it is so improbable from start to finish. Granted it’s a movie (where anything can happen), but the house that the wealthy hostages are held captive in couldn’t possibly exist in the real world, and the very idea that his own family would get caught up in the fray seems to be a bit if a stretch. There are questions thrown in from every direction about the situation and what possible underlying motives lie around each corner, and though they are all eventually answered, never really seems to fulfill the expectations of the audience.

That said, I really did enjoy “Hostage” to a certain degree. It’s not a bad film, and Willis’ performance really helps to keep what grounding it needed in reality there. This isn’t to say anyone else’s performance was bad, just the opposite is true. It’s just that the way the plot evolved really required me to suspend belief throughout, and Willis’ performance stood out enough from the crowd to help me do that.

Miramax is releasing the DVD of “Hostage” this week, and while I don’t highly recommend it, I still found enough that I liked about it to recommend it to a select few. Bruce Willis fans will certainly get their money’s worth, just don’t expect the same ‘Willis as a cop’ you’ve seen before.

The DVD does have a few of the requisite extra features, though nothing really expansive. The commentary by director Florent Siri is extremely laid back, and it doesn’t suit the film. The information he shares is relatively interesting, but really there’s nothing here that was really worth the time. You’ll also find a fairly short “Making of” featurette, but it’s more promotional in nature with its interviews. Finally, there are some deleted scenes with optional commentary, a few of which are acutallt wuite interesting.

I think if you take the time to watch “Hostage”, you won’t be at all disappointed. It’s dark, gritty and violent. But where there was some potential for a great movie, instead it is only an okay one.

Directed by: Florent Siri
Starring: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollack, Ben Foster, Jonathon Tucker
Extras: Deleted scenes with Optional Commentary, Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary, Taking Hostage Behind the Scenes, Audio Commentary by Director
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1) Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Miramax
Release Date: 6/21/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (For Strong Graphic Violence, Language and Drug Use)
Website

We'll give Hostage a C.