I just saw Hostage today at an advanced screening and I liked it! It seems to have all the elements of the Bruce Willis action movie, so one might think it cannot surprise anymore. Then again, you rarely see a bad Bruce Willis movie. It has the opening failure of the perfect cop, and the almost "post traumatic stress" side to the character who then moves into a smaller town, but carries his burden along with him.But this time, Bruce Willis doesn't seem all that perfect, he is scared, his voice is shaking in several situations and even cries. He still saves the day, but he's a lot more... human. And the guy is pretty good at this, too.Then there are the really powerful scenes that shake your soul! Young actor Ben Foster is involved in many of them and does a terrific (literally and figuratively speaking) job! There are also some unexpected resolutions and some even less expected symbolic shots.Bottom line is, Hostage is a good pick not only for the action/thriller fan, but also for any movie goer.

This was pretty good, not quite what I was expecting but in a way that made it better because it wasn't your cliché Bruce Willis action flick and held a few surprises. The story is suspenseful, twisty and very violent (people on fire, shot, stabbed) and filled with good performances.Willis plays a burnt out hostage negotiator who retreats from L.A with his family (including real life daughter Rumer) to become chief of police to a small town department. Of course this idyllic life doesn't last, after a failed robbery attempt two teenage brothers and their companion take a wealthy suburbanite family hostage and Willis again must negotiate.The story then splits with the introduction of a secondary plot as Bruce's wife and daughter are also kidnapped by more bad guys and he is blackmailed into getting incriminating evidence out of the first hostage family's house.I enjoyed Willis here, his character is very human, emotional and almost broken by the events he's faced and is still dealing with, even shedding a tear or two. I also liked the kid he works with.The three hostage takers are also excellent in particular (a young) Ben Foster who steals the show with his psychopathic tendencies while still managing to garner sympathy. All the characters are well fleshed out with back stories.It does go a bit OTT towards the end but not in a 'Die Hard' way and is worth a watch. 11/2/16

A rare Bruce Willis movie that I have never seen.Willis plays a ex hostage negotiator burnt out from failing his last case. Now he's a chief of police in some small hick town where crime does not happen. So guess what happens? crime. Three rowdy ruff boys (One played by a younger Ben Foster), get flip the bird by a rich chick and of course they can't let that go and end up taking her and her family hostage, in what turned out to be the most dramatic gun fight I've seen, and now I'm totally invested in watching this movie, which is worth it when it turns they pick the wrong family to mess with, and Willis has to get his head back into the game to get it all under control.The movie is cleaver in it's delivery. Trying not to fall into the heroic clichés we see in movies. Bruce Willis plays a man completely dedicated to his family and not the job, but unfortunately the job is dedicated to him, and as such, twist and turns within the film keep pulling him back into the mix just when he was close to getting out.This is a really good Bruce Willis movie too. Not really what you expect and yet everything you need from Bruce Willis. Lots of Drama and suspense and very action packed. Some of the action is a little corny as it goes over the top, but still it does the trick. Bruce gets to play a dramatic role as he goes crazy trying to get the job done because as the movie progress he has more invested in the whole thing.Very surprise that I've never seen this one before, it's actually a really good picture.http://cinemagardens.com

If you're looking for an all out action (dare I say 'Die Hard?') type movie then 'Hostage' is not going to tick all the boxes you want it to. It's not what you'd call 'classic Bruce Willis,' i.e. him running around shooting one bad guy after the next (excluding the last quarter of an hour or so). Instead, you get a more 'muted' performance from the balding action man. However, that's not to say that he doesn't bring an air of A-list to what is technically a B-movie.Our Bruce is a burned-out hostage negotiator who has taken a job as a simple sheriff, but his easy life takes a wrong turn when a gang of thugs breaks into a mob boss' accountant's house, taking the hapless pen-pusher's children hostage while the very same mob kidnaps his wife and daughter. Therefore he must use his head (and his negotiating skills) as opposed to his gun to save both families.Like I say, it's not all out action on the scale of Die Hard, but, if you're a fan of Brucie then this is definitely one for your collection. Lately, Mr Willis has made some right duffers of movies and popped up as little more than extended cameos in others. Hostage is definitely not one of those. It is a very definite Bruce Willis affair. If you're looking for an out and out thriller that offers enough thrills and spills to keep you amused for nearly two hours, then this is the one for you.Watchable, enjoyable, possibly forgettable, but fun.