Hostage (film)
Encyclopedia
Hostage is a 2005 thriller film with Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...

 that was directed by Florent Emilio Siri
Florent Emilio Siri
Florent Emilio Siri is a French film director born in Lorraine.He studied cinema at the Sorbonne University and ESRA in Paris....

. The film was based on a novel
Hostage (novel)
Hostage is a 2001 thriller novel by Robert Crais, set in Bristo Bay, California, about a small town police chief named Jeff Talley with memories of a failed hostage situation, who must negotiate the same type of situation in his own town if he wants his own family to live...

 by Robert Crais
Robert Crais
Robert Crais is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. He lists amongst his literary influences the authors Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest...

, and was adapted for the screen by Doug Richardson
Doug Richardson
Doug Richardson is an American screenwriter known for his ability to write action movies.He first made an impression with his so-far unproduced spec script Hell Bent... and Back which sold for one million dollars...

.

The film's plot is roughly the same as the novel; the main difference is that a complicated subplot involving the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

 was removed and the ages of the first group of hostage-takers was lowered slightly. In the novel, Smith's employer is Sonny Benza, a crime overlord whose influence reaches throughout the entire West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

.

Plot

Former SWAT officer Jeff Talley is a hostage negotiator
Hostage negotiator
Crisis negotiation is a technique for law enforcement to communicate with people who are threatening violence, including barricaded subjects, hostage takers, stalkers, threats, workplace violence, or persons threatening suicide....

 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. Talley is negotiating with a man who has taken his wife and son hostage after learning she has been cheating on him. Talley denies a SWAT commander's request to give snipers the green light to take out the suspect. There are three gunshots in the house. Talley runs through the barricaded door and finds the man and his wife dead. In the boy's room he finds the son, who passes away in Talley's arms. This leaves Talley emotionally scarred. He moves with his family to become police chief in Bristo Camino, a peaceful suburban hamlet in Ventura County, California
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...

.

A year after the incident, Talley finds himself in another hostage situation. Two teenagers, Dennis and his brother Kevin, and their mysterious accomplice Marshall "Mars" Krupcheck take hostage Walter Smith and his two children, a teenager and a young child, in Smith's house after a failed robbery attempt. The first officer to respond, Carol Flores, is brutally shot twice by Mars just before Talley and a fellow officer arrive. Talley attempts to rescue the seriously injured officer, who dies in front of him. Traumatized and unwilling to put himself through yet another life-or-death situation, Talley hands authority over to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and leaves.

Smith has been laundering money
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...

 for a mysterious criminal syndicate through offshore shell corporations. He was preparing to turn over a batch of important encrypted files (recorded on a DVD) when he was taken hostage. To protect such incriminating evidence from discovery, the syndicate orders someone known only as the Watchman to kidnap Talley's wife and daughter. Talley is told to return to the hostage scene and stall for time until the organization can launch its own attack against Smith's house.

Dennis has his partners Mars and Kevin tie up the kids. Dennis pistol-whips Walter, knocking him out, then finds a large amount of cash. In attempt to end the standoff (and secure the DVDs himself), Talley meets with Dennis and agrees to provide a helicopter in exchange for half the money. When the helicopter arrives, Dennis and Kevin bring the money to Talley in the courtyard and prepare to leave, but Mars refuses to leave without Jennifer. Talley tries to get the boys to leave Jennifer and walk away, but he says that the helicopter will only carry three additional people, and insists that Jennifer stay behind. The deal breaks down as the boys return to the house. Talley tells the chopper to stand down and he exits the courtyard.

Kevin is upset that his older brother picked Mars over him and confronts Dennis,demanding he make a decision: it's either him or Mars. Dennis picks the money and Kevin is even more upset so he grabs the bags full of money and empties them onto the floor, so Dennis punches him. Thomas escapes, grabs his father's gun and talks to Talley on Jennifer's cell phone.

Talley learns that Mars is a killer, who could turn on the hostages and his own accomplices at any moment. Mars does, in fact, kill Kevin, just when Kevin is about to release the kids to the police. Dennis comes to Kevin's side and assumes the cops killed him. Mars then shoots Dennis. The brothers die in each other's arms.

The syndicate sends fake FBI agents to recover the DVD and they storm the house. Mars is stabbed in the cheek by Jennifer. She and her brother flee. They lock themselves in the house's panic room
Panic room
A safe room or panic room is a fortified room which is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break-in, home invasion, tornado, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment, so that law...

. Talley hears the children screaming as they flee.

Mars throws a Molotov Cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...

 at Talley, destroying his patrol car. Mars begins to kill the majority of the fake FBI agents using his pistol and multiple Molotov Cocktails, but is shot in the side by the only surviving agent. The agent tracks down Talley and the children, demanding to be given the encrypted DVD. Talley gives him the DVD. Mars reappears, distracting the agent long enough to be killed by Talley.

Mars prepares to throw the last bomb and kill everyone in the room. He collapses to his knees, weakened by the wounds in his torso and blood loss. He makes eye contact with Jennifer, with whom he was apparently infatuated, then drops the Molotov Cocktail. Mars dies, setting himself on fire and vanishing in a pillar of flame.

Talley evacuates the hostages. He and Walter Smith then go to the inn where Talley's wife and daughter are being held hostage by the Watchman and other masked men. Smith, set free by Talley and grateful for his own family being saved, shoots the Watchman in the head. This allows Talley to kill the other masked gunmen. Talley's family is safe.

Cast

  • Bruce Willis
    Bruce Willis
    Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...

     as Police Chief Jeff Talley
  • Kevin Pollak
    Kevin Pollak
    Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...

     as Walter Smith
  • Jimmy Bennett
    Jimmy Bennett
    James Michael "Jimmy" Bennett is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, Poseidon, and more recently in Orphan and as young James T. Kirk in Star Trek...

     as Tommy Smith
  • Michelle Horn
    Michelle Horn
    Michelle Horn is an American actress known for her work in the TV shows Strong Medicine and Family Law. Horn is also known for her voiceover work in Disney's Lion King 2: Simba's Pride as the lion cub Kiara. Her voice can be heard in Lion King-related merchandise such as software, plushes, toys...

     as Jennifer Smith
  • Ben Foster as Marshall "Mars" Krupcheck
  • Jonathan Tucker
    Jonathan Tucker
    Jonathan Moss Tucker is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles in the movies The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Hostage, In the Valley of Elah and The Ruins, and The Black Donnellys on television....

     as Dennis Kelly
  • Marshall Allman
    Marshall Allman
    Marshall Scot Allman is an American actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as L. J. Burrows on Fox's successful television series, Prison Break...

     as Kevin Kelly
  • Serena Scott Thomas
    Serena Scott Thomas
    Serena Harriet Scott Thomas is an English actress.-Family and personal:Scott Thomas was born in Nether Compton, Dorset. Her mother, Deborah , was brought up in Hong Kong and Africa, and studied drama before marrying Scott Thomas' father...

     as Jane Talley
  • Rumer Willis
    Rumer Willis
    Rumer Glenn Willis is an American actress, the oldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and the stepdaughter of Emma Heming and Ashton Kutcher.-Personal life:...

     as Amanda Talley
  • Kim Coates
    Kim Coates
    Kim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...

     as The Watchman
  • Robert Knepper
    Robert Knepper
    Robert Lyle Knepper is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox network's drama series Prison Break, for which he was nominated a Satellite Award...

     as Wil Bechler
  • Tina Lifford as Deputy Sheriff Laura Shoemaker
  • Ransford Doherty as Officer Mike Anders
  • Marjean Holden
    Marjean Holden
    Marjean Holden is an American actress.-Career:Holden made her professional acting debut in 1987 in the feature film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. She has guest-starred in JAG, Tales from the Crypt, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, La Femme Nikita, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Suddenly Susan, and...

     as Officer Carol Flores
  • Michael D. Roberts
    Michael D. Roberts
    Michael D. Roberts is an American actor.-Career:Roberts played the role of "Roosters" in the 1970s television series Baretta. Roberts starred in the short-lived 1980s television series Manimal, appearing in five of the eight episodes which aired, as Tyrone C. Earl...

     as Bob Ridley
  • Art LaFleur
    Art LaFleur
    -Life and career:La Fleur was born in Gary, Indiana. He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Charlie Bradshaw as chronicled in a 2007 book, The Thin Thirty....

     as Bill Jorgenson
  • Randy McPherson as Kovak
  • Hector Luis Bustamante
    Hector Luis Bustamante
    -Early life:He was born Héctor Luis Bustamante Durango in Medellín, Colombia to Dagoberto Bustamante and Aracelly Durango. Bustamante and his family moved to the United States when he was 12. Bustamante was an allumni of the 1989 Governor's School of New Jersey as an art scholar...

     as Officer Ruiz
  • Kathryn Joosten
    Kathryn Joosten
    Kathryn Joosten is an American television actress best known for her regular role as Karen McCluskey in Desperate Housewives and for her recurring role in The West Wing as Dolores Landingham.-Early life:...

     as Louise
  • Johnny Messner as Mr. Jones
  • Glenn Morshower
    Glenn Morshower
    Glenn Grove Morshower is an American actor best known for playing Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce on the Fox action thriller drama series 24...

     as Lt. Leifitz
  • Jamie McShane as Joe Mack
  • Jimmy Pinchak as Sean Mack
  • Chad Smith
    Chad Smith
    Chad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and...

     as Bobby Knox

Production

Filming took place in the Malibu area (in western Los Angeles County). The exterior views of Smith's lavishly appointed house were filmed at a real house in the unincorporated Topanga Canyon area, between Malibu and Los Angeles; the interior scenes were done on soundstages in Hollywood.

The movie's opening scenes were filmed in the Boyle Heights
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California
Boyle Heights is a neighborhood east of Downtown Los Angeles on the East Side of Los Angeles. For much of the twentieth century, Boyle Heights was a gateway for new immigrants. This resulted in diverse demographics, including Jewish American, Japanese American and Mexican American populations,...

 neighborhood of Los Angeles, just east of downtown.

Although being fictional, Bristo Camino was possibly intended to be a representation of Ojai
Ojai, California
Ojai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley , surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...

 or Moorpark
Moorpark, California
Moorpark is a city in Southern California. It was founded in 1900 by Robert Poindexter, presumably named after the moorpark apricots that grew in the area. The city has experienced a great amount of growth since the late 1970s...

. Bristo Bay is the name of Bristo Camino in the original 2001 Robert Crais
Robert Crais
Robert Crais is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Quincy, Miami Vice and L.A. Law. He lists amongst his literary influences the authors Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest...

 novel
Hostage (novel)
Hostage is a 2001 thriller novel by Robert Crais, set in Bristo Bay, California, about a small town police chief named Jeff Talley with memories of a failed hostage situation, who must negotiate the same type of situation in his own town if he wants his own family to live...

.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 gave the film a score of 36% based on 152 reviews.
Rotten Tomatoes' selected top critics gave the film a score of 33% based on 12 reviews.

Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

gave the film 3 stars out of 4.

Box office

The film earned $34,639,939 at the box office in the United States and a total international gross of $77,944,725.
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