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Hostage
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Lions Gate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (3rd March 2012). |
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The Film
 What is it about Bruce Willis that makes any film he’s in instantly watchable? Obviously, if you’re a Willis hater this statement will sound ludicrous to you, but I don’t think there are a whole lot of real movie fans out there who don’t like them some Bruce action. It takes a damn fine actor to make a film like “Hudson Hawk” (1991) remotely enjoyable. Whatever the story may be, Willis has an undeniable charisma on screen that I tend to gravitate towards. Even better (for him, at least) is that he’s managed to avoid many of the bad career choices other 80's action stars have made, allowing him to still enjoy above-title billing and (most importantly) his films are still big theatrical draws. Maybe not like they were in his heyday, but he never went the Sly Stallone route by pumping out one terrible direct-to-video movie after another (though Stallone seems like he’s finally stabilized and is enjoying a much needed career resurgence). I can’t exactly say Willis has been selective in making those decisions; he’s got his fair share of turds, too. Lately, however, he seems to have comfortably nestled himself into a position where he makes mostly-solid thrillers, takes a few career risks and maintains his game without diluting his brand. “Hostage” (2005) is one such film – not a career risk, but a fairly orthodox thriller wherein Bruce is put into a bad situation, then it gets worse, then he gets some guns and ups the body count considerably before the credits roll. I figured this would be a one (viewing)-and-done film, but there are a few surprise twists and turns that will keep viewers glued to the screen awaiting the outcome. Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis) is a hostage negotiator for the LAPD, and we first meet him on a hot L.A. day while he’s trying to talk a man out of killing his family. That event ends in tragedy, and when we cut to one year later Talley has taken up residence as the sheriff of fictional town Bristo Camino, a peaceful community. But a group of young thugs is about to shatter that peace when they break into the home of Walter Smith (Kevin Pollak) and take him and his family hostage. Things quickly escalate when one of the responding officers is shot and killed by Mars (Ben Foster), the most sadistic of the group. Unfortunately for the thugs, Smith works for a powerful crime boss who needs to retrieve a crucial disc inside the home. With no option to get in, the syndicate kidnaps Talley’s family and demands that he go in and get the disc for them, or else his wife and daughter will be murdered. The idea to have two hostage situations at once definitely ratchets up the tension here, but I only found one of them to be believable, and that would be the crime syndicate. The issue I take with the young thugs breaking into Smith’s home is that it doesn’t feel legit. For one thing, these kids seem far too young to be taking on such a large task. Breaking into the home when no one is around? Sure, I could see that. But the hole they dig just keeps getting bigger and, while they soon realize they’re in over their heads (with the exception of Mars, who really is a cowboy), I didn’t buy them as hardened criminals. That complaint mainly boils down to Dennis (Jonathan Tucker) and Kevin (Marshall Allman), the two brothers who are accompanying Mars. Dennis tries to act like tough shit, but that thin veil is quickly lifted once he sees the world of trouble they’re in. He still tries to keep up the act, however. Kevin, on the other hand, is playing the role of Sympathetic Criminal. You know, he’s the one who doesn’t want to be doing this. He’s not a hard ass; he’s soft as a baby’s ass. There always has to be the one guy in the group who empathizes with his hostages, allows them extra leeway and keeps his mouth shut if they escape their shackles and start to wander the house in search of some aid. If you’re going to put kids in a movie and make them evil, then make them ALL evil. I know people aren’t always so black-and-white in real life, but I also grow weary of the frequent employment of cliché criminals. The only one of the kids who really stands out is Ben Foster as Mars. I’ve slowly become a big fan of Foster’s work after seeing him display some amazing range in films like “3:10 to Yuma” (2007), “30 Days of Night” (2007) and “The Messenger” (2009). He has the ability to completely lose himself in character, something the other guys with him weren’t able to convincingly pull off. Foster’s Mars is a mean spirit, someone who was treated rough as a child and left to fend for himself in a society that he actively despises. His killing of the officer early on is the perfect display of what little regard he has for human life. He won’t think twice about killing someone. When he’s alone with his thoughts things seem to get even worse. There’s a great scene where he’s talking to Smith’s daughter, Jennifer (Michelle Horn), while she’s tied up captive and he’s almost trying to convince her to “be his girl” despite their situation. The desperation in Mars’ words is palpable, and you really get the sense that he’s never known love before. If I’d seen this film back in 2005, before Foster really broke out, I’d still note that he’s one to watch. Without his performance, I think the events at the Smith home could have easily been the least interesting in the film. Although I found the crime syndicate the most realistic, in terms of feasibility, it also presented the most convoluted aspect of the film. It doesn’t really get introduced until we’re well underway with the home invasion, so now the audience has to keep up with two kidnappings, one of which we don’t fully understand the motivation for. The criminals here operate as a shadow group, entering and exiting with extreme precision so that no angle is left uncovered. We know they need a DVD from Walter Smith’s home, but what’s the purpose of it? Obviously we’re going to find out at some point, but without knowing what Smith’s connection to organized crime is, we’re left sitting in the dark while a lot of drama unfolds. The film more than likely couldn’t have worked without a secondary angle, but there are still many questions left unanswered by the time the credits start rolling, and I don’t exactly consider this the kind of film that needs to make someone think. It’s a run-of-the-mill thrill ride with some choice zingers, a hefty body count and Bruce Willis doing what he does best. Let’s keep it simple, people.
Video
There’s a particular aesthetic to these Hollywood thrillers that began sometime in the mid-90's and has continued on through the present day. Personally, I’m a fan of the look because it reminds me of my heavy film watching days of the 90's. It also lends a bit of comfort to the film since I’m accustomed to the appearance they’ve presented here, though I’d guess that comfort stems from my nostalgia. Regardless, the 2.35:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image is a solid hit in my book. The film starts off with some stylish, Saul Bass-esque credits that almost seem out of place they’re so well done. Shades of deep black and crimson red outline the cityscape of Los Angeles before breaking to reveal the skyline, baking in the summer heat, thick with smog and green, leafy palm trees cluttering the horizon. Our first glimpse of Willis shows him with long, stringy hair and a thick scruff of salt-and-pepper beard. The detail is so sharp you can almost count the individual hairs making up his grizzly visage. Film grain looks to be preserved, with no hints of DNR smearing the otherwise filmic image. A staple of films like this is a “heavy” look – over-saturated colors mixed with under-saturated, pitch black shadows, color slightly tweaked toward richer hues. Luckily, all of these stylized visuals are impressive in high definition. It would be easy for detail to become lost under the weight of the post-production manipulation, but the image holds its own and produces a strong, crisp, finely-detailed picture.
Audio
I honestly didn’t expect much activity out of the film’s English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit, but I should have. Almost anything with Bruce Willis in a role like this is going to venture into action-heavy territory at some point. Right from the get-go, the speakers treat us to the loud panning of a helicopter circling a decrepit Los Angeles urban home. Being that the film has such a heavy police presence, and a roster of gun-toting scumbags, viewers should expect a healthy smattering of gun fire to assault them from all corners of the room. I was particularly impressed with the “weight” of the gun shots. These aren’t your typical weak, anemic blasts just to provide some sound; these bullets sound like they’re ready to tear your room apart. The raid on the Smith house by the FBI, in particular, features an array of smashing windows, machine gun fire and all around destruction that really gets your system cranking. Dialogue levels were consistently balanced properly and discernible, despite the fact that a lot of it comes in hushed whispers when Willis or another character are trying to be discreet amongst a trio of home invaders. I never strained once to make out what anyone was saying, even when some of that dialogue is presented during loud sequences, like a helicopter landing or gun fire assault within the home. This is a much stronger track than I had been expecting, proving that even mid-grade films can still play with the big boys of sound on the home video front. Subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
A mid-grade thriller gets some mid-grade extras. Lionsgate didn’t exactly pull out all the stops for this release (and, really, why should they?), but they have included a few useful features that those who enjoyed the film can quickly breeze through. We’re given an audio commentary, featurette, deleted & extended scenes and the usual bonus trailers/bookmarks/BD-Live that every other Lionsgate title is graced with. The audio commentary with director Florent Siri is a decent listen, though I don’t think you’re likely to glean much from it. The director has a French accent thicker than a baguette, and he mostly talks about why he likes certain scenes, how he shot them, but there’s no real “meat” here. “Taking Hostage Behind the Scenes” (480p) is a featurette that runs for 12 minutes and 32 seconds. A lot of the first half of this piece is everyone talking about how great/cool/manly Bruce Willis is, but the actor himself never makes an appearance. One interesting tidbit from the director was that he changed the ages of the troubled kids to be younger than the script originally called for. Personally, I think they should’ve been left older. A number of deleted scenes (480p) are included with optional audio commentary from director Florent Siri: - “Jacking Cars” runs for 59 seconds, Dennis reminds Kevin that Mars’ car jacking skills provide them with money. - “Meet Flores” runs for 1 minute and 12 seconds, we get an introduction to the female officer who’s shot and killed at the Smith home. - “Flores Checks Out the Trucks” runs for 56 seconds, the officer examines the boys’ vehicle more closely. - “Mars Won’t Go” runs for 41 seconds, he won’t leave the Smith home because he knows the cops are planning something. - “Tommy Won’t Leave the House without Sister” runs for 46 seconds, title says it all. - “Mars Takes Out FBI Team #1” runs for 17 seconds, a few more beats of Mars killing the squad members. There are also a couple of extended scenes (480p), again available with optional audio commentary from director Florent Siri: - “Gun in Mouth” runs for 1 minute and 16 seconds, more footage of Jeff arguing with his daughter. - “Mars Immolates Himself” runs for 45 seconds, this shows a little more of the FX work that went into showcasing Mars’ death. Bonus trailers (1080p) are included for the following Lionsgate releases: - “The Expendables” runs for 1 minute and 19 seconds. - “Lionsgate Blu-ray promo” runs for 1 minute and 3 seconds. - “Warrior” runs for 2 minutes and 32 seconds. Lionsgate’s standard bookmarks feature is also included, as well as the disc being BD-Live enabled, though no content specific to the film is available as of this writing.
Packaging
The single disc comes in a keep case with cover art featuring Bruce Willis holding a gun, which might just be enough to sell people on it right there.
Overall
I think it boils down to one simple question here: do you like Bruce Willis? If the answer is yes, this is probably going to entertain you, if nothing else. If you aren’t a fan of Bruno’s work, then you’re going to hate the hell out of it. I found the film to be a passably fun thriller with some good performances and a solid a/v presentation.
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