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.
In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
Director:
Joel Schumacher
Stars:
Matthew McConaughey,
Sandra Bullock,
Samuel L. Jackson
A young boy who witnessed the suicide of a mafia lawyer hires an attorney to protect him when the District Attorney tries to use him to take down a mob family.
Director:
Joel Schumacher
Stars:
Susan Sarandon,
Tommy Lee Jones,
Brad Renfro
The story of what happens one day in New York City, when a young lawyer and a businessman share a small automobile accident on F.D.R. Drive, and their mutual road rage escalates into a feud.
Director:
Roger Michell
Stars:
Ben Affleck,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Kim Staunton
High powered lawyer Claire Kubik finds her world turned upside down when her husband, who has been living under a false name, is arrested by military police and placed on trial for the murder of villagers while he was in the Marines.
A D.E.A. Agent investigates the disappearance of a legendary Army Ranger Drill Sergeant and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone severely awry.
Director:
John McTiernan
Stars:
John Travolta,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Connie Nielsen
A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
Director:
Bruce Beresford
Stars:
Ashley Judd,
Tommy Lee Jones,
Bruce Greenwood
A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime.
An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody, and only the L.A.P.D.'s Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it.
Director:
Clark Johnson
Stars:
Samuel L. Jackson,
Colin Farrell,
Michelle Rodriguez
In the midst of an elaborate conspiracy, an expert negotiator is driven to the edge when he's framed for the murder of his partner, as well as embezzling money from his department's pension fund. His only chance to prove his innocence is to take hostages himself, acquire the services of another expert negotiator, and find out who's running the conspiracy before it's too late.Written by
Ted Walters
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. See more »
Kevin Spacey doesn't appear until nearly one-third of the way through the movie. See more »
Goofs
The sharpshooter puts a laser dot on Roman's head and the officers in the helicopter light Roman up with about eight lasers while he's standing in the window. Police sharpshooters don't use laser sights (i.e. red dot on target). They're good enough to not need them and don't want to tip off the suspect that he's in their sights. Any cops who do have laser sights (which is unlikely, but conceivable) don't put them on the target and keep them there. The sights are for rapidly getting the gun on target - not replacing proper sight picture. See more »
Quotes
Lieutenant Danny Roman:
[while trying to talk down a Hostage Taker through a closed door]
Yeah, I like animals better than people sometimes... Especially dogs. Dogs are the best. Every time you come home, they act like they haven't seen you in a year. And the good thing about dogs... is they got different dogs for different people. Like pit bulls. The dog of dogs. Pit bull can be the right man's best friend... or the wrong man's worst enemy. You going to give me a dog for a pet, give me a pit bull. Give me... Raoul. ...
[...] See more »
Regular readers of my reviews (all three of you) will know that one film that really soured my opinion of the Hollywood machine is the completely botched "Italian Job" remake - a typically stylish but ultimately shallow rehash of a perfectly good original. I was almost angry at director F. Gary Gray for trying to wreck my fond memories of Michael Caine in Turin so imagine my surprise to find him responsible for this earlier effort which is a genuinely exciting, if far-fetched, thriller starring two of Hollywood's biggest actors. Where did it all go wrong for the poor guy?
Samuel L Jackson plays police negotiator Lt. Danny Roman, a hostage negotiator with the Chicago PD who's a nice guy and all-round good bloke. After discovering corrupt cops helping themselves to the department's disability fund, Danny's world comes crumbling down after his partner is gunned down with all evidence pointing to him. Believing himself to be set up by Internal Affairs, led by Inspector Niebaum (J.T. Walsh) and Commander Frost (Ron Rifkin), Danny decides to take some hostages of his own in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence. Facing fellow negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), can Danny discover the truth before his one-time colleagues put a premature end to the siege?
Featuring quality at every level of the casting, "The Negotiator" shrugs off it's far-fetched scenario and becomes one of the most compulsive thrillers I've seen in ages. With the outcome never really certain until the credits roll, this is as good an example that I can think of of a film that has all the traditional elements of a classic summer blockbuster but remains taunt, thrilling and exciting throughout. Acting is a real strength of the film as Jackson, Walsh, Paul Giamatti and David Morse offer real depth to their characters and hold the film together with ease. Spacey looks a little out of place - he's too nice to play the stone-faced good guy with a mean streak - but his performance supports Jackson's wild-eyed paranoia perfectly. The biggest problems I found was that the story took a while to get going and when it did, it was actually rather obvious who the villains are.
I was actually a little tired of hostage movies after watching the equally brilliant "Inside Man" a little while ago but while that was a little on the slow side, this kept up a cracking pace until the very end. But both are exceptionally well-written, well-acted pieces of cinema and I don't think I could pick between the two. Even my Better Half enjoyed it, making me stay up late to watch it in spite of my early start the next day. I wouldn't describe "The Negotiator" as exceptional because it doesn't offer anything new in terms of action films or thrillers and the premise, as I've said, is too far-fetched for me personally. But "The Negotiator" is still a highly enjoyable film in its own right and to ignore it would be criminal. Feel free to ignore "The Italian Job" rehash, though...
15 of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Regular readers of my reviews (all three of you) will know that one film that really soured my opinion of the Hollywood machine is the completely botched "Italian Job" remake - a typically stylish but ultimately shallow rehash of a perfectly good original. I was almost angry at director F. Gary Gray for trying to wreck my fond memories of Michael Caine in Turin so imagine my surprise to find him responsible for this earlier effort which is a genuinely exciting, if far-fetched, thriller starring two of Hollywood's biggest actors. Where did it all go wrong for the poor guy?
Samuel L Jackson plays police negotiator Lt. Danny Roman, a hostage negotiator with the Chicago PD who's a nice guy and all-round good bloke. After discovering corrupt cops helping themselves to the department's disability fund, Danny's world comes crumbling down after his partner is gunned down with all evidence pointing to him. Believing himself to be set up by Internal Affairs, led by Inspector Niebaum (J.T. Walsh) and Commander Frost (Ron Rifkin), Danny decides to take some hostages of his own in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence. Facing fellow negotiator Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), can Danny discover the truth before his one-time colleagues put a premature end to the siege?
Featuring quality at every level of the casting, "The Negotiator" shrugs off it's far-fetched scenario and becomes one of the most compulsive thrillers I've seen in ages. With the outcome never really certain until the credits roll, this is as good an example that I can think of of a film that has all the traditional elements of a classic summer blockbuster but remains taunt, thrilling and exciting throughout. Acting is a real strength of the film as Jackson, Walsh, Paul Giamatti and David Morse offer real depth to their characters and hold the film together with ease. Spacey looks a little out of place - he's too nice to play the stone-faced good guy with a mean streak - but his performance supports Jackson's wild-eyed paranoia perfectly. The biggest problems I found was that the story took a while to get going and when it did, it was actually rather obvious who the villains are.
I was actually a little tired of hostage movies after watching the equally brilliant "Inside Man" a little while ago but while that was a little on the slow side, this kept up a cracking pace until the very end. But both are exceptionally well-written, well-acted pieces of cinema and I don't think I could pick between the two. Even my Better Half enjoyed it, making me stay up late to watch it in spite of my early start the next day. I wouldn't describe "The Negotiator" as exceptional because it doesn't offer anything new in terms of action films or thrillers and the premise, as I've said, is too far-fetched for me personally. But "The Negotiator" is still a highly enjoyable film in its own right and to ignore it would be criminal. Feel free to ignore "The Italian Job" rehash, though...