2005’s Hostage is one of those films that are perfectly enjoyable if you allow yourself to get past the plots implausibility’s. Hostage represents another attempt by Bruce Willis to produce a thriller with the kind of broad appeal exhibited in the Die Hard films. While Hostage doesn’t come anywhere near reaching that goal, it does offer a flawed, but enjoyable action filled ride.
Willis plays Jeff Talley, a top LAPD hostage negotiator, who leaves the city after two victims (including a child) are killed on his watch. A year later, he’s taken the job of police chief in the small Ventura County hamlet of Bristo Camino. Jeff enjoys the rather slow pace; not much happens there. His biggest problem is the unhappiness of his wife, Jane (Serena Scott Thomas), and daughter, Amanda (Rumer Willis). They hate life in the sleepy little town so much that they only live with him part-time. However, when a suspicious vehicle is spotted outside the gated house of a wealthy accountant (Kevin Pollack), everything changes.
Inside the house, the accountant is lying motionless on the living room floor while his daughter, Jennifer (Michelle Horn), and son, Tommy (Jimmy Bennett), are being held hostage by three intruders: Dennis (Jonathan Tucker), Mars (Ben Foster), and Kevin (Marshall Allman). A police officer investigating the scene is shot and killed. Talley has to come to the rescue and surround the place, with the three intruders and their hostages holed up.
The mansion is enormous and fully armed. The place has security features that make it into a fortress. Why? We don’t know. These hostage takers were just out to steal the guys Cadillac when it all went wrong. As the three men move through the house, they find television cameras in every room and even more cameras outside. Further, they find bags of money lying around; literally, bags of hundred-dollar bills. What’s more, the whole house is honeycombed with secret passageways and ventilator shafts big enough for people to crawl through. What have they gotten themselves into? Just who are these people?
Talley tries to turn the situation over to the county authorities and walk away, more issues arise. Masked men show up and hold Talley’s wife and daughter hostage. So now we have two sets of bad guys, each holding people hostage. Trouble just follows Jeff Talley wherever he goes. As I said earlier, look past the plots ridiculous implausibility’s, and Hostage is a half decent pulp fiction yarn.
Released in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the film was shot on 35mm, and the 1080p transfer retains the natural grain, making this a film-like experience. Many of the scenes take place at night, but the image stays clear throughout. Detail is quite good. Blacks are solid, and contrast is even. There are a few occasions where softness is apparent. Where necessary, colors are bold and vibrant. The print is devoid of any defects such as scratches, dirt, or specks.
The lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track performs well. The dialogue is mostly presented by the center channel, and it stays consistently audible. The rear channels are activated with the arrival of helicopters, and there are ambient atmospheric noises around the house. The action sequences are forceful, with rumbling bass and thundering gunshots.
We get the following special features:
- Audio Commentary — Director Florent Siri is the lone participant on this track. This is the same track that was included on the 2005 DVD release. Siri talks about the genesis of the project, and how Willis became attached. Siri discusses technical information along with anecdotal information regarding shooting the movie.
- Taking ‘Hostage’ Behind the Scenes (SD, 12 min.) — Interviews with the cast and crew spliced with footage from the movie and footage from behind the scenes.
- Deleted Scenes (SD, 5 min.) — There’s a few deleted scenes here that have optional commentary from Siri. Some extended interaction between Dennis and Kevin, and a strange scene that shows that Jeff Talley drinks on the job.
- Extended Scenes (SD, 2 min.) — There’s an extended and uncomfortable scene with Willis and his real-life daughter Rumer and an extended scene of (spoiler!) Mars burning to death. These also have commentary from Siri.
