Rent The Negotiator (1998)

A riveting & brilliantly acted popcorn thriller, with Jackson & Spacey perfectly matched - The Negotiator review by TB

This is a really good & enjoyable film, which also lives & dies by it's performances. Make no mistake, without Samuel L. Jackson & Kevin Spacey, this film would almost certainly not succeed. The script is at times ludicrous & dangerously on the verge of slipping into pastiche: we have the fairly familiar plot of a hostage negotiation & the various rug-pulls which come as standard, and which we as the viewer would be disappointed if they weren't there, although they have to be done well otherwise the film becomes tiresome. But the real trick pulled in this story is that the top negotiator is now the one doing the hostage taking, meaning the usual tricks don't work on him.

Jackson is, as he often is, the best thing about this film: a performance with emotions aplenty (he cries & shows genuine emotion, to balance against the iconic shouting,) teamed with a steely resolve & complete belief in his ability to prove his innocence against multiple bogus charges. But Spacey is able to match him with a different set of emotions: not only quick to anger & outbursts, but a deadly calm when everyone else is losing their heads. Spacey's incredible range mean you never know truly where his loyalties lie, which adds plenty to the tension.

Whilst some parts of the script are really poor & could have used some cutting (there are too many characters, who are offered up to you as potential villains/betrayers,) I would be lying if I said I wasn't gripped. And whilst there were some reviewers who bemoaned the lack of a big, all-guns-blazing finale, I firmly believe this would have actually ruined what was a very good set-up. It was a good length, with great performances & left me with a curiosity to see it again to put together all the loose ends which I missed the first time round.

A solid thriller